WikiFur - User contributions [en]

Mandy Seley

2009-05-10T15:46:42Z

Madd the Sane: making the page

Divided Sky is a webcomic by Mandy Richberg when her [[fursona]] was Kittifox. It has gone through three main story revisions. The current revision is being worked on, and as such isn't up yet. However, previews of the pages (without text) can be seen on the forums.

== Plot ==
The plot revolves around '''templars:''' mortals called to defend the planet. Kittifox, a cross between a cat and a fox, is the first to gain her powers. She gets into a fight with a synthoid, an android that used to be human, in a fast food restaurant. Soon after, she is arrested by Vyyk under questionable charges. It turns out that one of the cops on the force is a synthoid seeking for revenge. It is revealed that Vyyk himself is another Templar.

== External Links ==
* [http://kittifox.deviantart.com Mandy's DeviantArt Page]
* [http://www.divided-sky.net Divided Sky's comic page]

{{stub}}

Hidden Disguises

2008-04-15T03:23:34Z

Madd the Sane: adding more

{{Infobox webcomic
| title = Hidden Disguises
| image = ?
| caption =
| author = [[Hoshiko Usagi]]
| url = http://www.hiddendisguises.com/
| status = Monday
| began = September 2004
| ended = Ongoing
| genre = ?
| rating = {{Rating-ma-button}}
}}
'''''Hidden Disguises''''' is a [[webcomic]] drawn by [[Furry]] artist [[Hoshiko Usagi]]. It revolves around Wryn, a [[Tigress]] servant to a [[panda]] prince named Twynador. The servants at his castle have more freedom than you would think, with Wryn having a first-name basis with the prince. However, Twynador is betrothed to Diamond, a spoiled princess who thinks she's the most important thing in the world.

Not all is as it seems with Wryn. She is having similar nightmares when she sleeps that she cannot recall. Also, she has fallen for one of Diamond's servants, and Diamond has forbidden him from seeing her.

== External links ==
* http://www.hiddendisguises.com/

{{comic-stub}}

[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:2004 births]]

Hidden Disguises

2008-04-15T01:54:31Z

Madd the Sane: adding comic infobox and adding a better discription

{{Infobox webcomic
| title = Hidden Disguises
| image = ?
| caption =
| author = [[Hoshiko Usagi]]
| url = http://www.hiddendisguises.com/
| status = Monday
| began = September 2004
| ended = Ongoing
| genre = ?
| rating = {{Rating-ma-button}}
}}
'''''Hidden Disguises''''' is a [[webcomic]] drawn by [[Furry]] artist [[Hoshiko Usagi]]. It revolves around Wryn, a [[Tigress]] servant to a [[panda]] prince named Twynador. The servants at his castle have more freedom than you would think, with Wryn having a first-name basis with the prince. However, Twynador is betrothed to Diamond, a spoiled princess who thinks she's the most important thing in the world.

== External links ==
* http://www.hiddendisguises.com/

{{comic-stub}}

[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:2004 births]]

Goblin Hollow

2008-03-05T05:25:29Z

Madd the Sane: updating a bit

{{Infobox webcomic
| title = Goblin Hollow
| image = [[Image:Bnbutton.gif]]
| caption =
| author = [[Ralph Hayes, Jr.]]
| url = http://www.rhjunior.com/GH/
| status = Mondays(?)
| began = 2000
| ended = Ongoing
| genre = ?
| rating = [[Image:Censor_panda_nyr_button.png]]
}}

'''''Goblin Hollow''''' (formerly known as '''''Under the Lemon Tree''''') is a comic created by [[Ralph Hayes, Jr.]], who also produces several other [[webcomics]].

== Under the Lemon Tree ==
{{spoiler}}
The comic centers around Ben Bruin, who arrives home one day from his job at the "''Bullseye''" department store to discover he now shares his home with six posse-tulpas, plus later a seventh, small characters each of whom represents an aspect of his personality that he had repressed. They are not usually visible to anyone except Ben and a select few others (including Lily Feldspar, for that matter), but they are able to wreak havoc on Ben's life until he learns to deal with them.

One of Ben's co-workers, Lily Feldspar, soon becomes his girlfriend and the only other person who knows about the tulpas and can see them on a regular basis. Eventually, Ben and Lily get married. After Ben loses his job at Bullseye, they buy an old haunted house and convert it into a video arcade.

''Note: The strip archives prior to the opening of the arcade are currently unavailable.''

=== Retcon ===
The author did a [[Wikipedia:retcon|retcon]], changing the tuplas into goblins that hatched from eggs. As such, there were seven that hatched. The author has put some of the pre-retcon strips as flashbacks.

== Current Premise ==
The webcomic centers around Ben and his wife running their arcade, Goblin Hollow, as well as their trials.
==Characters==

====Main characters====
*Ben Bruin
[[Image:Lily Feldspar.png|right|frame|75px|Lily Bruin]]
*Lily Bruin - Ben Bruin's wife
*Penny Feldspar - Lily's little sister

====Secondary characters====
[[Image:Fred Rabbit.png|right|frame|75px|Fred Rabbit]]
*Fred Rabbit

*Merry Beaver - Another of the "''Goblin Hollow''" employees, Merry was also a fellow worker with Ben at the "''Bullseye''" department store, where she worked as one of the clerk staff, despite being the niece of their employer, "Boss" Beaver. She's dating the "''Bullseye''"former janitor, Rico Chihuahua|Rico]]. Though Merry can be bit of a softspoken knucklehead, she can find her share of backbone when the going gets tough on the job.

*Rico Chihuahua - The last of the "''Goblin Hollow''" employees quartet, and Merry Beaver's boyfriend

====Incidental characters====
[[Image:Beltane.png|right|frame|75px|Beltane]]
*Beltane
*Roz Poodle
*"Boss" Beaver

{{comic-stub}}

[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:2000 births]]

Cyantian Chronicles

2008-03-04T05:10:05Z

Madd the Sane: fixing skunk link and adding tidbit on No Angel

{{cleanup}}
{{Infobox webcomic
| title = Cyantian Chronicles
| image =
| caption =
| author = [[Tiffany Ross]]
| url = http://www.cyantian.net/
| status = sporadically
| began =
| ended =
| genre = [[Science Fiction]]
| rating = {{rating-14-button2}}
}}

The '''Cyantian Chronicles''' was created by [[Tiffany Ross]] of [[Shivae Comics]] in 2001. Rather than just being one [[comic]], it is a collection of comic series which are all related to each other. They all use the same world, and follow a timeline. In fact, each comic takes place in a set span of time, although they are not arranged according to chronological order on the site except in the about pages. This comic set is generally known as either ''The Cyantian Chronicles'' or as ''Akaelae''. Sections of the comic include ''The Cyantian Chronicles'', ''Exotica Genoworks'', ''Sink or Swim'', ''Campus Safari'', and ''[[Shivae!]]''.

The following is content quoted directly from the comic's about page:

''Akaelae consists of three parts at the moment. The first section is a story entitled: Satin and Silke Prequel. This was originally written and drawn to provide a background story for two characters, Chatin and Cilke and also to introduce Syrys Akaelae, Collin and Quinn. Chatin and Cilke were originally created as consumer goods by Exotica Genoworks. Collin and Quinn are genetically designed Siracs, a name given to psychically gifted racoon species which were singled out to experiment with mental abilities. They were left behind to watch a cryogenically frozen wolf,... an enemy of the fox people, which was also intended to destroy the facility they were in, offering cover to the administration of EG, to remove themselves from the Fox government's hold on them to create more and more violent creations.''

''[...]''

''Akaelae is the actual 'origin' story and prequel to Campus Safari, the first comic I did online. It follows the life of several young wolves and foxes... and many other species as they deal with a world that is suddenly changing from what it has been for as long as they've been alive. New evils have arrived and old ones are returning with a plot to destroy the guardian family of the Cyantian Wolves... the Akaelaes.''

The Cyantian Chronicles is a slew of comics written by [[Tiffany Ross]]. They center around a civilization of fictional [[anthropomorphic]] animals, called Cyantians. It mainly focuses on the [[wolf|wolves]], [[fox|foxes]], and [[cats]] (called mounties in the comic) that were created by an alien race that has disappeared. The stories also include genetically engineered [[Skunk (species)|skunks]] that were created by the foxes. Later, in Campus Safari and onward, there have been some humans in the story.

The comic is available online as well as a comic book that can be bought at the Shivae store.

==Species==
the Cyantian Chronicles involves several different species, most of which could be considered furies. These can be divided up into several categories; exotica geneworks creations, Rumuah creations and native Cyantians as well as a number of other non-Cyantians.

==Comics== 
The following comics are currently at the main web site. However, the Cyantian universe is diverse and has many stories that are not on the website. Also, all of the stories are "Graphic Novels in Progress".
===Gralen Cragg Hall===
This story tells what happened in the fox lands when the government was overthrown and a [[wikipedia:genocide|genocide]] of foxes with black, silver, or white fur.

===Genoworks Saga===
Will tell of the events surrounding Exotica Genoworks. This includes the kangaroos from ''Sink or Swim''; the Genoworks skunks Cilke, Chatin, and Cisco; and other Genoworks-related characters.

====Satin and Silk====
Being replaced by ''Genoworks Saga'', it told of what happened to the Genoworks skunks.

===Puppet Strings===
A fairly short arc that involved the return of a Genoworks skunk and an introduction of another psychic raccoon who has ulterior motives.

from the website:

''The second section is Puppet Strings. This was another story featuring the same characters... and their encounter with a lost brother and another Sirac. This story takes place just prior to Akaelae.''

===Akaelae===
This comic shows when the Genoworks skunks and the young elite wolves go to school. They have entered their teens and are going to general education. In this arc, Darius find Darrik, Chatin searches for secrets, and Rama is up to his old tricks again.

Among all of the comics, this is the only one that has all of it's pages in color.

===Campus Safari===
The first comic to come out, it involves Chatin and some of her friends' brief stay on [[wikipedia:Earth|Earth]] when her sister plays with a personal transporter. After getting rescued, they end up going to an academy located on [[wikipedia:Mars|Mars]].

The following stories take place at the same time as ''Campus Safari'':
====Sink or Swim====
This Comic deals with genetically-engineered [[kangaroo]]s and their way of life. They were abused by the foxes and when one of them snapped, she severely damaged Exotica Genoworks, allowing many of the tortured military subjects to escape.

====No Angel====
This story involves Jules who wants to return to earth. When she walks into a portal that transports her home, she learns that it would have been wiser to listen to Darius.

The more recent strips are in their own continuity.

====Cesilee's Diary====
Cesilee's Diary mainly deals with Cesilee, an Ocelot/Puma [[hybrid]] that has fallen in love with Marcus. However, he doesn't exactly feel the same way about her.

==Main Characters==
===Chatin===
;Species:Skunk
Created at Exotica Genoworks as "art," she was left behind when the facility was mainly destroyed. She seems a bit clumsy in her early years, but makes it up with her intelligence.

===Darius===
;Species:Wolf
Darius is a short, white wolf. In ''Akeklae'', he is arrogant and a bit of a know-it-all. However, he is considerate and doesn't .
In Campus Safari, he is the headmaster of the College on Mars.

===Quinn===
;Species:Raccoon
Quinn is a childish individual. like all ''Siracs'', or psychic raccoons, she has psychic abilities. She has the ability, and the habit, of teleporting. She has a very happy demeanor and is rarely depressed. Of the two main Siracs (the other being her brother Collin), she is the one who works with expanding her abilities.

===Rama===
;Species:Wolf-Mountie(Cat) hybrid.
The main antagonist in the stories. He seems to hold a big grudge against the wolves, and even got the foxes to fight for him. He was momentarily exiled on earth, but as of Akaklae, has returned.
==Secondary Characters==
* '''Marcus''': A [[furry]] fanatic, was pleasantly surprised when Chatin and Cilke 'arrived' at a furry convention. He asked Cilke to marry him while throwing himself on her tail. He received a black eye for doing that. He is happy to be on Mars and fits in fine.

* '''Jules''': An [[Anime]] fan, she was more or less forced to go to the Mars Academy due to the fact that the [[wikipedia:Men in Black|AMIB]] was coming after her and Marcus. She was reluctant to believe it and wanted to return home. However, when she gets back to earth, she is captured by the AMIB and "persuaded" to be a spy on Mars.

* '''Cilke''': Chatin's "sister."

* '''Sheana''':

* '''Twinky''':  Named after the [[wikipedia:twinky|treat with the same name]], he is a [[were]]-skunk, a human that can change into a normal earth skunk or an anthropomorphic skunk. He is first seen in ''Campus Safari'' as a normal skunk that escaped a maze and was eating Twinkies. He is quickly released back "into the wild," but becomes a frequent visitor. Soon after, he writes a little note and waits on Jules and Marcus's front door. Chatin takes a liking to him and he becomes her "pet." He isn't revealed until after he protects Chatin from an assailant. 

* '''Darrik''': In Akaelae, he is a black fox that was raised in [[wikipedia:Jamaica|Jamaica]]  and somehow ended up on Cyantia. Like all black fox, he has the ability to manipulate matter, but his parents hid this knowledge from him. By ''Campus Safari'', he is married and during this time, his wife gives birth.

* '''Collin''':

* '''Stephen and Sean''':

==Locations==
===Earth===
Cyantian Chronicles takes place during the late 20th-early 21st century.

===Mars===
The place where Mars Academy is located. It, along with [[wikipedia:Venus|Venus]], is being [[wikipedia:Terraform|Terraformed]] to be habitable by the Cyantians as a peace offering to Earth when they make contact. However, the U.S. government seems to think that they are trying to invade and take over [[wikipedia:Earth|Earth]].

===Cyantia===
A planet that has all of the Cyantians. Cyantia is also known as '''Cyantzium'''.
====Avistary====
Cyantia's moon. It is about five times the size of our moon, and it also has its own moon. It is mainly inhabited by Avisterians, or anthropomorphic birds.

== See also ==

* [http://www.shivae.org/wiki/ ShivaeWiki], which contains content about all of the Shivae Studios comics, including the Cyantian Chronicles

== External links ==

* [http://cyantian.net/ Cyantian Chornicles website]
* [http://cyantian.net/world/timeline.html The Cyantian Chronicles Timeline]
* [http://cyantian.net/tails/d/20040912.html Graphical Timeline]

[[category:Comics]]

The Foxfire Chronicles

2008-03-04T04:54:45Z

Madd the Sane: /* Secondary Characters */ fixing category

{{Infobox webcomic
| title = Foxfire Chronicles
| image = [[Image:Indextemplate_r2_c6.gif]]
| caption =
| author = [[Turnsky]], [[Mike Lion]] (formerly)
| url = http://foxfire.comicgen.com
| status = Ongoing
| began = October 6th, 2003
| ended = -
| genre = Furry
| rating = {{rating-14-button2}}
}}
'''''Foxfire Chronicles''''' is a [[sci-fi|science]]-[[fantasy]] [[anthro]] [[webcomic]] created by [[Turnsky]] and was once co-written by [[Mike Lion]]. Due to plot issues from the [[artist]], the [[writer]] left. Because of the artist seeing the webcomic not in his own way. Turnsky is responsible for the art of the comic, when Mike Lion was the script writer. When he ditched ''Foxfire Chronicles'', Turnsky adds new characters and rewrite the plot.

==Plot Summary==
The story takes place in 2008, where five strangers were captured from the military. They became in one of the military genetic experiments under the Order from General William Orville. The experiments were made to improve soldiers by using animal genes, the results were dumbstruck as it transformed the [[human]] form into a [[humanoid]] [[animal]]. The five who were involved in this mess are horrified and angry, they feel that they have little left to live for.
General William Orville was under the militaristic guidance. He orchestrated the "Operation Wendigo" to create super soldiers with animalistic abilities, but it didn't really imagined for Orville. It all resides within Middlebrook Military Base, deep within the western mountain ranges near Asheville, North Carolina. Luke and his friends must fight to keep their humanity after what they have become. Despite, being kept as a secret from the public. They have allies, known as the Manitou, a race of [[shapeshifter]]s that change from human form to [[hybrid]] animal form. The prophecy was fulfilled, when the three prophets have found Luke and his friends. Luke was chosen.

== Main Characters==

'''Luke'''- The somewhat unwilling leader of the group, Luke himself would like nothing normal to be both Normal, and relatively carefree. But these days, he just wants his group kept intact so nobody loses their way he doesn't wish to be alone in all of this, but fears, one day, he will be alone.

'''Mary'''- If Luke was the heart, Mary would be the soul, Although left somewhat traumatized by her situation, she has found her crutch.. or pillar, in Luke, albeit being perfectly capable of standing on her own two feet, she just chooses not to.
Mary has taken a liking to Luke, and would protect him if the need should arise.

'''Liegh'''- Liegh's large physical build lends to his near-obsessiveness about his physical condition, after learning of the existence of the Manitou, his overall reaction to his "condition" has lessened, as he has somehow convinced himself that he'd be amongst the prime examples of his "kind". He also does try to field the largest hand-held weapons that he'd be capable of lifting.

'''Beth'''- Beth has been relatively silent about the hand that fate has dealt her. Her silent nature, does, however, hide her competence under pressure, this makes her very patient in a crisis. To this end, she prefers to take time certain things, and has adopted scoped rifles, pistols, or any other sharpshooting weapons to be her preferred choice, in weaponry.

'''Davis'''- As technologically adept he is, Davis' skills are complicated by his slight inferiority complex, and a touch of modesty. Also to note that Davis has no wish to draw attention to himself, as he feels he'll fail at a critical point if he feels to be extremely important. But if you allow him to work on any Computer or Technological item, and he'll shine.

==Secondary Characters==

'''General William Orville'''- As cold and heartless that the general seems to be, he really believes that he is a patriot in every sense, he also seems to have his own, personal agendas as far as the five betas are concerned. He is a brilliant tactician, and plans things to the finest detail, with layers upon layers, every plausible situation planned and plotted, if he does something, he has a reason for it.

'''Admiral Heartfeld'''- As NATO's only Fleet admiral, he has pretty much Full reign over the NCV Cole (NATO Command Vessel), and her support fleet. Heartfeld also has the ability to operate outside the US's Jurisdiction and its politics. His own connections with Orville are unknown, however. Other than his name, and rank, the man himself, is still an enigma.

'''The Three Prophets'''- As mysterious, and ultimately intimidating as these three are, they are quite easily the most powerful individuals alive to date. However, one holds much more political power than the other two, and the other, albeit stronger in capabilities, has no political power whatsoever. The latter has taken an interest in Luke and his friends, and will try to ensure his safety until a personal confrontation can be arranged. The first one, however, has only appeared to Luke in a moment of unconsciousness, as if he can only talk from afar, or through something else. He, however, is something more.

[[Category:comics]]

Cyantian Chronicles

2007-12-04T05:55:15Z

Madd the Sane: /* Sink or Swim */ fixing link

{{cleanup}}
{{Infobox webcomic
| title = Cyantian Chronicles
| image =
| caption =
| author = [[Tiffany Ross]]
| url = http://www.cyantian.net/
| status = sporadically
| began =
| ended =
| genre = [[Science Fiction]]
| rating = {{rating-14-button2}}
}}

The '''Cyantian Chronicles''' was created by [[Tiffany Ross]] of [[Shivae Comics]] in 2001. Rather than just being one [[comic]], it is a collection of comic series which are all related to each other. They all use the same world, and follow a timeline. In fact, each comic takes place in a set span of time, although they are not arranged according to chronological order on the site except in the about pages. This comic set is generally known as either ''The Cyantian Chronicles'' or as ''Akaelae''. Sections of the comic include ''The Cyantian Chronicles'', ''Exotica Genoworks'', ''Sink or Swim'', ''Campus Safari'', and ''[[Shivae!]]''.

The following is content quoted directly from the comic's about page:

''Akaelae consists of three parts at the moment. The first section is a story entitled: Satin and Silke Prequel. This was originally written and drawn to provide a background story for two characters, Chatin and Cilke and also to introduce Syrys Akaelae, Collin and Quinn. Chatin and Cilke were originally created as consumer goods by Exotica Genoworks. Collin and Quinn are genetically designed Siracs, a name given to psychically gifted racoon species which were singled out to experiment with mental abilities. They were left behind to watch a cryogenically frozen wolf,... an enemy of the fox people, which was also intended to destroy the facility they were in, offering cover to the administration of EG, to remove themselves from the Fox government's hold on them to create more and more violent creations.''

''[...]''

''Akaelae is the actual 'origin' story and prequel to Campus Safari, the first comic I did online. It follows the life of several young wolves and foxes... and many other species as they deal with a world that is suddenly changing from what it has been for as long as they've been alive. New evils have arrived and old ones are returning with a plot to destroy the guardian family of the Cyantian Wolves... the Akaelaes.''

The Cyantian Chronicles is a slew of comics written by [[Tiffany Ross]]. They center around a civilization of fictional [[anthropomorphic]] animals, called Cyantians. It mainly focuses on the [[wolf|wolves]], [[fox|foxes]], and [[cats]] (called mounties in the comic) that were created by an alien race that has disappeared. The stories also include genetically engineered [[wikipedia:skunk|skunks]] that were created by the foxes. Later, in Campus Safari and onward, there have been some humans in the story.

The comic is available online as well as a comic book that can be bought at the Shivae store.

==Species==
the Cyantian Chronicles involves several different species, most of which could be considered furies. These can be divided up into several categories; exotica geneworks creations, Rumuah creations and native Cyantians as well as a number of other non-Cyantians.

==Comics== 
The following comics are currently at the main web site. However, the Cyantian universe is diverse and has many stories that are not on the website. Also, all of the stories are "Graphic Novels in Progress".
===Gralen Cragg Hall===
This story tells what happened in the fox lands when the government was overthrown and a [[wikipedia:genocide|genocide]] of foxes with black, silver, or white fur.

===Genoworks Saga===
Will tell of the events surrounding Exotica Genoworks. This includes the kangaroos from ''Sink or Swim''; the Genoworks skunks Cilke, Chatin, and Cisco; and other Genoworks-related characters.

====Satin and Silk====
Being replaced by Genoworks Saga, it told of what happened to the Genoworks skunks.

===Puppet Strings===
A fairly short arc that involved the return of a Genoworks skunk and an introduction of another psychic raccoon who has ulterior motives.

from the website:

''The second section is Puppet Strings. This was another story featuring the same characters... and their encounter with a lost brother and another Sirac. This story takes place just prior to Akaelae.''

===Akaelae===
This comic shows when the Genoworks skunks and the young elite wolves go to school. They have entered their teens and are going to general education. In this arc, Darius find Darrik, Chatin searches for secrets, and Rama is up to his old tricks again.

Among all of the comics, this is the only one that has all of it's pages in color.

===Campus Safari===
The first comic to come out, it involves Chatin and some of her friends' brief stay on [[wikipedia:Earth|Earth]] when her sister plays with a personal transporter. After getting rescued, they end up going to an academy located on [[wikipedia:Mars|Mars]].

The following stories take place at the same time as ''Campus Safari'':
====Sink or Swim====
This Comic deals with genetically-engineered [[kangaroo]]s and their way of life. They were abused by the foxes and when one of them snapped, she severely damaged Exotica Genoworks, allowing many of the tortured military subjects to escape.

====No Angel====
This story involves Jules who wants to return to earth. When she walks into a portal that transports her home, she learns that it would have been wiser to listen to Darius.

====Cesilee's Diary====
Cesilee's Diary mainly deals with Cesilee, an Ocelot/Puma [[hybrid]] that has fallen in love with Marcus. However, he doesn't exactly feel the same way about her.

==Main Characters==
===Chatin===
;Species:Skunk
Created at Exotica Genoworks as "art," she was left behind when the facility was mainly destroyed. She seems a bit clumsy in her early years, but makes it up with her intelligence.

===Darius===
;Species:Wolf
Darius is a short, white wolf. In ''Akeklae'', he is arrogant and a bit of a know-it-all. However, he is considerate and doesn't .
In Campus Safari, he is the headmaster of the College on Mars.

===Quinn===
;Species:Raccoon
Quinn is a childish individual. like all ''Siracs'', or psychic raccoons, she has psychic abilities. She has the ability, and the habit, of teleporting. She has a very happy demeanor and is rarely depressed. Of the two main Siracs (the other being her brother Collin), she is the one who works with expanding her abilities.

===Rama===
;Species:Wolf-Mountie(Cat) hybrid.
The main antagonist in the stories. He seems to hold a big grudge against the wolves, and even got the foxes to fight for him. He was momentarily exiled on earth, but as of Akaklae, has returned.
==Secondary Characters==
* '''Marcus''': A [[furry]] fanatic, was pleasantly surprised when Chatin and Cilke 'arrived' at a furry convention. He asked Cilke to marry him while throwing himself on her tail. He received a black eye for doing that. He is happy to be on Mars and fits in fine.

* '''Jules''': An [[Anime]] fan, she was more or less forced to go to the Mars Academy due to the fact that the [[wikipedia:Men in Black|AMIB]] was coming after her and Marcus. She was reluctant to believe it and wanted to return home. However, when she gets back to earth, she is captured by the AMIB and "persuaded" to be a spy on Mars.

* '''Cilke''': Chatin's "sister."

* '''Sheana''':

* '''Twinky''':  Named after the [[wikipedia:twinky|treat with the same name]], he is a [[were]]-skunk, a human that can change into a normal earth skunk or an anthropomorphic skunk. He is first seen in ''Campus Safari'' as a normal skunk that escaped a maze and was eating Twinkies. He is quickly released back "into the wild," but becomes a frequent visitor. Soon after, he writes a little note and waits on Jules and Marcus's front door. Chatin takes a liking to him and he becomes her "pet." He isn't revealed until after he protects Chatin from an assailant. 

* '''Darrik''': In Akaelae, he is a black fox that was raised in [[wikipedia:Jamaica|Jamaica]]  and somehow ended up on Cyantia. Like all black fox, he has the ability to manipulate matter, but his parents hid this knowledge from him. By ''Campus Safari'', he is married and during this time, his wife gives birth.

* '''Collin''':

* '''Stephen and Sean''':

==Locations==
===Earth===
Cyantian Chronicles takes place during the late 20th-early 21st century.

===Mars===
The place where Mars Academy is located. It, along with [[wikipedia:Venus|Venus]], is being [[wikipedia:Terraform|Terraformed]] to be habitable by the Cyantians as a peace offering to Earth when they make contact. However, the U.S. government seems to think that they are trying to invade and take over [[wikipedia:Earth|Earth]].

===Cyantia===
A planet that has all of the Cyantians. Cyantia is also known as '''Cyantzium'''.
====Avistary====
Cyantia's moon. It is about five times the size of our moon, and it also has its own moon. It is mainly inhabited by Avisterians, or anthropomorphic birds.

== See also ==

* [http://www.shivae.org/wiki/ ShivaeWiki], which contains content about all of the Shivae Studios comics, including the Cyantian Chronicles

== External links ==

* [http://cyantian.net/ Cyantian Chornicles website]
* [http://cyantian.net/world/timeline.html The Cyantian Chronicles Timeline]
* [http://cyantian.net/tails/d/20040912.html Graphical Timeline]

[[category:Comics]]

The Whiteboard

2007-08-28T07:44:41Z

Madd the Sane: adding third book information

{{Infobox webcomic 
| title = The Whiteboard

| author = Doc Nickel
| url = http://www.the-whiteboard.com/
| rss =
| atom =
| status = Updates Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
| began = July 18, 2002
| ended =
| genre =
| rating = [[Image:Censor_PG_button.png]][[Category:Rated PG]]
| preceded by =
| followed by =
}}

'''The Whiteboard''' is a [[wikipedia:paintball|paintball]] [[webcomic]] created by "Doc" Nickel, an [[wikipedia:Alaska|Alaskan]] [[wikipedia:airsmith|airsmith]]. It has been collected into three print books to date; "''The Whiteboard: Digitally Remastered''" (2005) [ISBN: 1-59971-219-9], "''The Whiteboard: Untapped Potential''" (2006), and "''The Whiteboard: Hit It Again!''" (2007). A special full-page color ''The Whiteboard'' was also featured in [http://p8ntballer.com/''Paintball Games International''] magazines' special "What Paintball Gear?" issue in 2003<ref name=WhatPBGear>Paintball Games International's "What Paintball Gear" Annual 2003, pg. 194</ref>. In 2004, the Russian magazine [http://www.paintball.ru/ ''пейнтбол''] (Paintball) printed<ref name=rPaintball>"''пейнтбол''" Summer 2004 issue, pg. 48</ref> several translated versions of early TWB strips.

It centers around Doc, an [[anthro]] [[polar bear]] who runs Doc's Shop, a paintball supply and repair shop where he often tinkers with the laws of physics. He and his friends, a group of various anthros, are often playing paintball. Humans are present, typically only as bystanders and other paintball players. Usually the humans are depicted as being either inept, new to the game (newbies), or general canon fodder.

The first strip was created on July 18, 2002, using a dry-erase board: <blockquote>''I'd just installed the board in the shop, and on a whim I scribbled up this comic, snapped a pic and posted it in the forum. The forum regulars liked it, so I drew a couple more and posted those as well.'' -Doc Nickel<ref>[http://the-whiteboard.com/autowb001.html The Whiteboard archives] - Page 1</ref></blockquote>

The difficulty in photographing the shiny whiteboard surface, and the limitations of the single-panel format led to the change to a more conventional pen-and-ink three panel layout. The strip was originally based on personal anecdotes collected while running a paintball shop, but it has evolved into a comic with many unique characters and storylines receiving 168,000<ref name=WebStats>TWB eXTReMe Tracking Site. http://extremetracking.com/open?login=thetwb</ref> unique visitors a month.

<blockquote>''TWB was never intended to be a [[furry]] strip. Besides the fact it wasn't intended to be a regular feature in the first place, [[polar bear]] was chosen simply as a clearly-Alaskan icon, and as a stereotypically bad-tempered, grumpy sort. I mean, would you want to tell a grumpy bear that you broke your [[wikipedia:Paintball marker|marker]] and need it fixed by Friday? When I started thinking about a regular-feature strip, I started planning the usual fish out of water gags; customers surprised at a bear working the counter, calling Fish & Game who would come and tranquilize him and try to transplant him back to the arctic, yadda yadda. I thought those jokes were too clichéd, however, and wanted to focus on the shop/customer jokes, which is why I drew the original comic in the first place.'' -Doc Nickel<ref>[http://the-whiteboard.com/autowb002.html The Whiteboard Archives] - Page 2 </ref> </blockquote>

==Characters==

*'''Doc''' is a [[Polar Bear]] (''Ursus Maritimus''). Originally intended as an [[avatar]] of the author, Doc has evolved into a unique character. As such, he's the boss. The big bruin. The head honcho. King of the ice floe. Owns and operates an as-yet unnamed paintball store, basically just as a dodge to get to play with wild toys and build cool gadgets. Has an affinity for [[wikipedia:Mountain Dew|Mountain Dew]], big wooden mallets and [[wikipedia:Autococker|Autocockers]]. Can hear a leaky 4-way or maladjusted ram snap-ring at forty meters, and carries around [[wikipedia:Milling machine|vertical mills]] like other people carry a [[wikipedia:Leatherman|Leatherman]].
*'''Roger''' is a [[Raccoon]] (''Procyon Lotor''). He's a computer [[wikipedia:geek|geek]], [[wikipedia:programmer|programmer]], and electronic transmogrifier. Often the voice of reason when new projects are contemplated, but occasionally the one wondering aloud where they can get some [[wikipedia:Thorium|Thorium]] and a couple particle accelerators. Has been known to troubleshoot [[wikipedia:Electropneumatic paintball gun|electropneumatic]] software over the phone, on the field, and under fire.
*'''Swamp Fox (Swampy)''' is a subspecies of [[Red Fox]] local to the [[wikipedia:Kenai Peninsula|Kenai Peninsula]] (''Vulpes vulpes kenaiensis''). He's your typical laid-back rec player. Swampy is good but not great, and thinks an [[wikipedia:automag (paintball marker)|automag]] is plenty "high tech" for him. A regular hangout at the shop and frequent bystander when a new gadget gets tested, he's usually the first one to call the fire department. Doesn't mind helping sweep up the debris.
*'''Bandit''' is a [[Ferret]] (''Mustela furo''). Skinny and fast, he's out on the field just for fun. Plays pump and [[wikipedia:Stock paintball|stock]], even in tournaments, and can't understand why somebody might need five 9-volts and a thousand [[wikipedia:paintball|paintballs]] for a single game. Can hide behind small twigs and uses [[wikipedia:Sup'Air|Sup'Air]] inflation tubes like other players use the "snake". Owns only one [[wikipedia:Paintball marker|marker]], and knows how to use it.
*'''Snowshoe (Shoey or Shoe)''' is a [[Lynx|Canadian Lynx]] (''Lynx canadensis''). More of a tourney player, Shoe prefers the fast-paced, paint-flyin' games. He's usually got the newest marker he can afford, but often has to be dissuaded from buying the latest overhyped gadget or trading the old one in 'cause new ones are ''nickeled''. Between game days, he can usually be found at the Shop watching paintball videos or flipping through the latest fliers and catalogs.
*'''Jinx''' is an [[Arctic Fox]] (''Alopex lagopus''). Jimmy's the new kid in town, and new to the sport as well. Strangely enough, not everyone thinks that exposure to the regular Crew is necessarily a 'bad' thing. That remains to be seen.
*'''Rainman (Daniel, never Bunny)''' is a [[hare|Snowshoe Hare]] (''Lepus americanus''). Semiserious tourney wannabe, though he spends more time practicing his 'trash talk' than his snapshots. A decent player, but worries more about appearing a professional player than actually being a pro. Yes, he knows he has a famous profile.
*'''Red''' is a subspecies of [[Red Fox]] local to [[wikipedia:Alaska|Alaska]] and northern [[wikipedia:Canada|Canada]] (''Vulpes vulpes alascensis''). He owns the local [[wikipedia:Paintball|Paintball]] Field, and runs it with the help of the Crew and various volunteers. Genuinely wants the customers to have fun, but won't put up with kids who want to "bend" the rules or can't learn to play safely.
*'''Jake''' is a [[Skunk|Striped Skunk]] (''Mephitis mephitis''). He's laid back and easygoing… at least 'til he gets on the field, where he's confident and aggressive. Few players will risk bunkering him after seeing what happened when Bandit got the drop on him during a [[wikipedia:woodsball|woodsball]] game.
*'''Bruno''' is a [[Bear|Brown Bear]] (''Ursus arctos''). Bruno's a bit older than the usual crowd, a little slower and not able to tuck or hide quite as well… But he makes it up in spades by being a devious, methodical and downright sneaky player. A fan of old pumps, he sometimes uses a semiauto just so he's not quite as sore in the morning.
*'''Sandy''' is a [[Red Fox]] (''Vulpes vulpes''). She's the new office girl. Starting out as an accidental hire after a party, she managed to put Doc's paperwork in some semblance of order, which came as a surprise to everyone since even disaster-recovery specialists said that would require heavy machinery, [[wikipedia:high explosives|high explosives]] and [[wikipedia:United Nations|UN]] approval. Knew absolutely nothing about the sport when she first arrived, but she's learning.
*'''Tawny''' is a [[Bobcat]] (''Lynx rufus''). She's Snowshoe's girlfriend. Shoey won't admit it, but if she wasn't keeping his gear cleaned and fixed, he'd never make it to the starting gate in time. He also won't admit she's a better player, and she'll let him win.
*'''Pirta (PJ)''' is a [[Snow leopard]] (''Uncia uncia''). She's a waitress at the Chinese-takeout place down the street. Pirta only knew of the shop antics from what the [[wikipedia:Emergency medical technician|EMT]]s and firemen told her when they'd come in after another call. That is, until she found out an old friend worked there…

==Making Of==
The author has a humorous look at how a typical strip is created [http://www.the-whiteboard.com/misc/af04.html on his site]

==Cameos==
Characters from and references to The Whiteboard have been featured in the following strips by other authors:
*[http://www.inktank.com/WW/index.cfm?nav=124 ''November 2, 2004''] in Weak-End Warriors.
*[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1100/fv01060.htm ''Jan 17, 2005''] in Freefall.
*[http://www.registeronecomic.com/index.php?comic=2005-04-22 ''April 22, 2005''] in Register One.
*[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20051020.html ''October 20, 2005''] in Schlock Mercenary.
*[http://www.drunkduck.com/The_KAMics/index.php?p=84254 ''September 4, 2006''] in The KAMics.
*[http://www.revolvercomic.com/view.php?date=2006-10-15 ''October 15, 2006''] in RevolverComic (spanish).

''The Whiteboard'' has itself done cameos of characters from over a hundred other webcomics, usually during the yearly Halloween parties.

==Critical Reaction==
Howard Tayler, author of Schlock Mercenary, wrote of [[The Whiteboard]]: "If you’re not already reading [[The Whiteboard]] as part of your daily trawl, I hope it’s not because you think the comic is only funny to paintballers. I’ve only paintballed once (an experience I found miserable) and the comic is one of my favorites."<ref name=Schlock>Tayler, Howard (August 16, 2006). "This run of The Whiteboard needs your attention". http://www.schlockmercenary.com/blog/index.php/2006/08/16/this-run-of-the-whiteboard-needs-your-attention/</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.the-whiteboard.com/ ''The Whiteboard'']
*[http://www.docsmachine.com/ ''Doc's Machine'']
*[http://www.docsmachine.com/tees/ ''TWB Print Books'']
*[[wikipedia:The Whiteboard|''Wikipedia Article'']]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whiteboard, The}}
[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:Alaska]]
{{Wikipedia|The Whiteboard}}

The Whiteboard

2007-07-31T02:52:40Z

Madd the Sane:

{{Infobox webcomic 
| title = The Whiteboard

| author = Doc Nickel
| url = http://www.the-whiteboard.com/
| rss =
| atom =
| status = Updates Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
| began = July 18, 2002
| ended =
| genre =
| rating = [[Image:Censor_PG_button.png]][[Category:Rated PG]]
| preceded by =
| followed by =
}}

'''The Whiteboard''' is a [[wikipedia:paintball|paintball]] [[webcomic]] created by "Doc" Nickel, an [[wikipedia:Alaska|Alaskan]] [[wikipedia:airsmith|airsmith]]. It has been collected into two print books to date; "''The Whiteboard: Digitally Remastered''" (2005) [ISBN: 1-59971-219-9] and "''The Whiteboard: Untapped Potential''" (2006). A special full-page color ''The Whiteboard'' was also featured in [http://p8ntballer.com/''Paintball Games International''] magazines' special "What Paintball Gear?" issue in 2003<ref name=WhatPBGear>Paintball Games International's "What Paintball Gear" Annual 2003, pg. 194</ref>. In 2004, the Russian magazine [http://www.paintball.ru/ ''пейнтбол''] (Paintball) printed<ref name=rPaintball>"''пейнтбол''" Summer 2004 issue, pg. 48</ref> several translated versions of early TWB strips.

It centers around Doc, an [[anthro]] [[polar bear]] who runs Doc's Shop, a paintball supply and repair shop where he often tinkers with the laws of physics. He and his friends, a group of various anthros, are often playing paintball. Humans are present, typically only as bystanders and other paintball players. Usually the humans are depicted as being either inept, new to the game (newbies), or general canon fodder.

The first strip was created on July 18, 2002, using a dry-erase board: <blockquote>''I'd just installed the board in the shop, and on a whim I scribbled up this comic, snapped a pic and posted it in the forum. The forum regulars liked it, so I drew a couple more and posted those as well.'' -Doc Nickel<ref>[http://the-whiteboard.com/autowb001.html The Whiteboard archives] - Page 1</ref></blockquote>

The difficulty in photographing the shiny whiteboard surface, and the limitations of the single-panel format led to the change to a more conventional pen-and-ink three panel layout. The strip was originally based on personal anecdotes collected while running a paintball shop, but it has evolved into a comic with many unique characters and storylines receiving 168,000<ref name=WebStats>TWB eXTReMe Tracking Site. http://extremetracking.com/open?login=thetwb</ref> unique visitors a month.

<blockquote>''TWB was never intended to be a [[furry]] strip. Besides the fact it wasn't intended to be a regular feature in the first place, [[polar bear]] was chosen simply as a clearly-Alaskan icon, and as a stereotypically bad-tempered, grumpy sort. I mean, would you want to tell a grumpy bear that you broke your [[wikipedia:Paintball marker|marker]] and need it fixed by Friday? When I started thinking about a regular-feature strip, I started planning the usual fish out of water gags; customers surprised at a bear working the counter, calling Fish & Game who would come and tranquilize him and try to transplant him back to the arctic, yadda yadda. I thought those jokes were too clichéd, however, and wanted to focus on the shop/customer jokes, which is why I drew the original comic in the first place.'' -Doc Nickel<ref>[http://the-whiteboard.com/autowb002.html The Whiteboard Archives] - Page 2 </ref> </blockquote>

==Characters==

*'''Doc''' is a [[Polar Bear]] (''Ursus Maritimus''). Originally intended as an [[avatar]] of the author, Doc has evolved into a unique character. As such, he's the boss. The big bruin. The head honcho. King of the ice floe. Owns and operates an as-yet unnamed paintball store, basically just as a dodge to get to play with wild toys and build cool gadgets. Has an affinity for [[wikipedia:Mountain Dew|Mountain Dew]], big wooden mallets and [[wikipedia:Autococker|Autocockers]]. Can hear a leaky 4-way or maladjusted ram snap-ring at forty meters, and carries around [[wikipedia:Milling machine|vertical mills]] like other people carry a [[wikipedia:Leatherman|Leatherman]].
*'''Roger''' is a [[Raccoon]] (''Procyon Lotor''). He's a computer [[wikipedia:geek|geek]], [[wikipedia:programmer|programmer]], and electronic transmogrifier. Often the voice of reason when new projects are contemplated, but occasionally the one wondering aloud where they can get some [[wikipedia:Thorium|Thorium]] and a couple particle accelerators. Has been known to troubleshoot [[wikipedia:Electropneumatic paintball gun|electropneumatic]] software over the phone, on the field, and under fire.
*'''Swamp Fox (Swampy)''' is a subspecies of [[Red Fox]] local to the [[wikipedia:Kenai Peninsula|Kenai Peninsula]] (''Vulpes vulpes kenaiensis''). He's your typical laid-back rec player. Swampy is good but not great, and thinks an [[wikipedia:automag (paintball marker)|automag]] is plenty "high tech" for him. A regular hangout at the shop and frequent bystander when a new gadget gets tested, he's usually the first one to call the fire department. Doesn't mind helping sweep up the debris.
*'''Bandit''' is a [[Ferret]] (''Mustela furo''). Skinny and fast, he's out on the field just for fun. Plays pump and [[wikipedia:Stock paintball|stock]], even in tournaments, and can't understand why somebody might need five 9-volts and a thousand [[wikipedia:paintball|paintballs]] for a single game. Can hide behind small twigs and uses [[wikipedia:Sup'Air|Sup'Air]] inflation tubes like other players use the "snake". Owns only one [[wikipedia:Paintball marker|marker]], and knows how to use it.
*'''Snowshoe (Shoey or Shoe)''' is a [[Lynx|Canadian Lynx]] (''Lynx canadensis''). More of a tourney player, Shoe prefers the fast-paced, paint-flyin' games. He's usually got the newest marker he can afford, but often has to be dissuaded from buying the latest overhyped gadget or trading the old one in 'cause new ones are ''nickeled''. Between game days, he can usually be found at the Shop watching paintball videos or flipping through the latest fliers and catalogs.
*'''Jinx''' is an [[Arctic Fox]] (''Alopex lagopus''). Jimmy's the new kid in town, and new to the sport as well. Strangely enough, not everyone thinks that exposure to the regular Crew is necessarily a 'bad' thing. That remains to be seen.
*'''Rainman (Daniel, never Bunny)''' is a [[hare|Snowshoe Hare]] (''Lepus americanus''). Semiserious tourney wannabe, though he spends more time practicing his 'trash talk' than his snapshots. A decent player, but worries more about appearing a professional player than actually being a pro. Yes, he knows he has a famous profile.
*'''Red''' is a subspecies of [[Red Fox]] local to [[wikipedia:Alaska|Alaska]] and northern [[wikipedia:Canada|Canada]] (''Vulpes vulpes alascensis''). He owns the local [[wikipedia:Paintball|Paintball]] Field, and runs it with the help of the Crew and various volunteers. Genuinely wants the customers to have fun, but won't put up with kids who want to "bend" the rules or can't learn to play safely.
*'''Jake''' is a [[Skunk|Striped Skunk]] (''Mephitis mephitis''). He's laid back and easygoing… at least 'til he gets on the field, where he's confident and aggressive. Few players will risk bunkering him after seeing what happened when Bandit got the drop on him during a [[wikipedia:woodsball|woodsball]] game.
*'''Bruno''' is a [[Bear|Brown Bear]] (''Ursus arctos''). Bruno's a bit older than the usual crowd, a little slower and not able to tuck or hide quite as well… But he makes it up in spades by being a devious, methodical and downright sneaky player. A fan of old pumps, he sometimes uses a semiauto just so he's not quite as sore in the morning.
*'''Sandy''' is a [[Red Fox]] (''Vulpes vulpes''). She's the new office girl. Starting out as an accidental hire after a party, she managed to put Doc's paperwork in some semblance of order, which came as a surprise to everyone since even disaster-recovery specialists said that would require heavy machinery, [[wikipedia:high explosives|high explosives]] and [[wikipedia:United Nations|UN]] approval. Knew absolutely nothing about the sport when she first arrived, but she's learning.
*'''Tawny''' is a [[Bobcat]] (''Lynx rufus''). She's Snowshoe's girlfriend. Shoey won't admit it, but if she wasn't keeping his gear cleaned and fixed, he'd never make it to the starting gate in time. He also won't admit she's a better player, and she'll let him win.
*'''Pirta (PJ)''' is a [[Snow leopard]] (''Uncia uncia''). She's a waitress at the Chinese-takeout place down the street. Pirta only knew of the shop antics from what the [[wikipedia:Emergency medical technician|EMT]]s and firemen told her when they'd come in after another call. That is, until she found out an old friend worked there…

==Making Of==
The author has a humorous look at how a typical strip is created [http://www.the-whiteboard.com/misc/af04.html on his site]

==Cameos==
Characters from and references to The Whiteboard have been featured in the following strips by other authors:
*[http://www.inktank.com/WW/index.cfm?nav=124 ''November 2, 2004''] in Weak-End Warriors.
*[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1100/fv01060.htm ''Jan 17, 2005''] in Freefall.
*[http://www.registeronecomic.com/index.php?comic=2005-04-22 ''April 22, 2005''] in Register One.
*[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20051020.html ''October 20, 2005''] in Schlock Mercenary.
*[http://www.drunkduck.com/The_KAMics/index.php?p=84254 ''September 4, 2006''] in The KAMics.
*[http://www.revolvercomic.com/view.php?date=2006-10-15 ''October 15, 2006''] in RevolverComic (spanish).

''The Whiteboard'' has itself done cameos of characters from over a hundred other webcomics, usually during the yearly Halloween parties.

==Critical Reaction==
Howard Tayler, author of Schlock Mercenary, wrote of [[The Whiteboard]]: "If you’re not already reading [[The Whiteboard]] as part of your daily trawl, I hope it’s not because you think the comic is only funny to paintballers. I’ve only paintballed once (an experience I found miserable) and the comic is one of my favorites."<ref name=Schlock>Tayler, Howard (August 16, 2006). "This run of The Whiteboard needs your attention". http://www.schlockmercenary.com/blog/index.php/2006/08/16/this-run-of-the-whiteboard-needs-your-attention/</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.the-whiteboard.com/ ''The Whiteboard'']
*[http://www.docsmachine.com/ ''Doc's Machine'']
*[http://www.docsmachine.com/tees/ ''TWB Print Books'']
*[[wikipedia:The Whiteboard|''Wikipedia Article'']]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whiteboard, The}}
[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:Alaska]]
{{Wikipedia|The Whiteboard}}

The Whiteboard

2007-07-31T02:50:31Z

Madd the Sane: removing unreferenced tag and adding rating

{{Infobox webcomic 
| title = The Whiteboard

| author = Doc Nickel
| url = http://www.the-whiteboard.com/
| rss =
| atom =
| status = Updates Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
| began = July 18, 2002
| ended =
| genre =
| rating = [[Image:Censor_PG_button.png]][[Category:Rated PG]]
| preceded by =
| followed by =
}}

'''The Whiteboard''' is a [[wikipedia:paintball|paintball]] [[webcomic]] created by "Doc" Nickel, an [[wikipedia:Alaska|Alaskan]] [[wikipedia:airsmith|airsmith]]. It has been collected into two print books to date; "''The Whiteboard: Digitally Remastered''" (2005) [ISBN: 1-59971-219-9] and "''The Whiteboard: Untapped Potential''" (2006). A special full-page color ''The Whiteboard'' was also featured in [http://p8ntballer.com/''Paintball Games International''] magazines' special "What Paintball Gear?" issue in 2003<ref name=WhatPBGear>Paintball Games International's "What Paintball Gear" Annual 2003, pg. 194</ref>. In 2004, the Russian magazine [http://www.paintball.ru/ ''пейнтбол''] (Paintball) printed<ref name=rPaintball>"''пейнтбол''" Summer 2004 issue, pg. 48</ref> several translated versions of early TWB strips.

It centers around Doc, an [[anthro]] [[polar bear]] who runs Doc's Shop, a paintball supply and repair shop where he often tinkers with the laws of physics. He and his friends, a group of various anthros, are often playing paintball. Humans are present, typically only as bystanders and other paintball players. Usually the humans are depicted as being either inept, new to the game (newbies), or general canon fodder.

The first strip was created on July 18, 2002, using a dry-erase board: <blockquote>''I'd just installed the board in the shop, and on a whim I scribbled up this comic, snapped a pic and posted it in the forum. The forum regulars liked it, so I drew a couple more and posted those as well.'' -Doc Nickel<ref>[http://the-whiteboard.com/autowb001.html The Whiteboard archives - Page 1]</ref></blockquote>

The difficulty in photographing the shiny whiteboard surface, and the limitations of the single-panel format led to the change to a more conventional pen-and-ink three panel layout. The strip was originally based on personal anecdotes collected while running a paintball shop, but it has evolved into a comic with many unique characters and storylines receiving 168,000<ref name=WebStats>TWB eXTReMe Tracking Site. http://extremetracking.com/open?login=thetwb</ref> unique visitors a month.

<blockquote>''TWB was never intended to be a [[furry]] strip. Besides the fact it wasn't intended to be a regular feature in the first place, [[polar bear]] was chosen simply as a clearly-Alaskan icon, and as a stereotypically bad-tempered, grumpy sort. I mean, would you want to tell a grumpy bear that you broke your [[wikipedia:Paintball marker|marker]] and need it fixed by Friday? When I started thinking about a regular-feature strip, I started planning the usual fish out of water gags; customers surprised at a bear working the counter, calling Fish & Game who would come and tranquilize him and try to transplant him back to the arctic, yadda yadda. I thought those jokes were too clichéd, however, and wanted to focus on the shop/customer jokes, which is why I drew the original comic in the first place.'' -Doc Nickel<ref>[http://the-whiteboard.com/autowb002.html The Whiteboard Archives - Page 2]</ref></blockquote>

==Characters==

*'''Doc''' is a [[Polar Bear]] (''Ursus Maritimus''). Originally intended as an [[avatar]] of the author, Doc has evolved into a unique character. As such, he's the boss. The big bruin. The head honcho. King of the ice floe. Owns and operates an as-yet unnamed paintball store, basically just as a dodge to get to play with wild toys and build cool gadgets. Has an affinity for [[wikipedia:Mountain Dew|Mountain Dew]], big wooden mallets and [[wikipedia:Autococker|Autocockers]]. Can hear a leaky 4-way or maladjusted ram snap-ring at forty meters, and carries around [[wikipedia:Milling machine|vertical mills]] like other people carry a [[wikipedia:Leatherman|Leatherman]].
*'''Roger''' is a [[Raccoon]] (''Procyon Lotor''). He's a computer [[wikipedia:geek|geek]], [[wikipedia:programmer|programmer]], and electronic transmogrifier. Often the voice of reason when new projects are contemplated, but occasionally the one wondering aloud where they can get some [[wikipedia:Thorium|Thorium]] and a couple particle accelerators. Has been known to troubleshoot [[wikipedia:Electropneumatic paintball gun|electropneumatic]] software over the phone, on the field, and under fire.
*'''Swamp Fox (Swampy)''' is a subspecies of [[Red Fox]] local to the [[wikipedia:Kenai Peninsula|Kenai Peninsula]] (''Vulpes vulpes kenaiensis''). He's your typical laid-back rec player. Swampy is good but not great, and thinks an [[wikipedia:automag (paintball marker)|automag]] is plenty "high tech" for him. A regular hangout at the shop and frequent bystander when a new gadget gets tested, he's usually the first one to call the fire department. Doesn't mind helping sweep up the debris.
*'''Bandit''' is a [[Ferret]] (''Mustela furo''). Skinny and fast, he's out on the field just for fun. Plays pump and [[wikipedia:Stock paintball|stock]], even in tournaments, and can't understand why somebody might need five 9-volts and a thousand [[wikipedia:paintball|paintballs]] for a single game. Can hide behind small twigs and uses [[wikipedia:Sup'Air|Sup'Air]] inflation tubes like other players use the "snake". Owns only one [[wikipedia:Paintball marker|marker]], and knows how to use it.
*'''Snowshoe (Shoey or Shoe)''' is a [[Lynx|Canadian Lynx]] (''Lynx canadensis''). More of a tourney player, Shoe prefers the fast-paced, paint-flyin' games. He's usually got the newest marker he can afford, but often has to be dissuaded from buying the latest overhyped gadget or trading the old one in 'cause new ones are ''nickeled''. Between game days, he can usually be found at the Shop watching paintball videos or flipping through the latest fliers and catalogs.
*'''Jinx''' is an [[Arctic Fox]] (''Alopex lagopus''). Jimmy's the new kid in town, and new to the sport as well. Strangely enough, not everyone thinks that exposure to the regular Crew is necessarily a 'bad' thing. That remains to be seen.
*'''Rainman (Daniel, never Bunny)''' is a [[hare|Snowshoe Hare]] (''Lepus americanus''). Semiserious tourney wannabe, though he spends more time practicing his 'trash talk' than his snapshots. A decent player, but worries more about appearing a professional player than actually being a pro. Yes, he knows he has a famous profile.
*'''Red''' is a subspecies of [[Red Fox]] local to [[wikipedia:Alaska|Alaska]] and northern [[wikipedia:Canada|Canada]] (''Vulpes vulpes alascensis''). He owns the local [[wikipedia:Paintball|Paintball]] Field, and runs it with the help of the Crew and various volunteers. Genuinely wants the customers to have fun, but won't put up with kids who want to "bend" the rules or can't learn to play safely.
*'''Jake''' is a [[Skunk|Striped Skunk]] (''Mephitis mephitis''). He's laid back and easygoing… at least 'til he gets on the field, where he's confident and aggressive. Few players will risk bunkering him after seeing what happened when Bandit got the drop on him during a [[wikipedia:woodsball|woodsball]] game.
*'''Bruno''' is a [[Bear|Brown Bear]] (''Ursus arctos''). Bruno's a bit older than the usual crowd, a little slower and not able to tuck or hide quite as well… But he makes it up in spades by being a devious, methodical and downright sneaky player. A fan of old pumps, he sometimes uses a semiauto just so he's not quite as sore in the morning.
*'''Sandy''' is a [[Red Fox]] (''Vulpes vulpes''). She's the new office girl. Starting out as an accidental hire after a party, she managed to put Doc's paperwork in some semblance of order, which came as a surprise to everyone since even disaster-recovery specialists said that would require heavy machinery, [[wikipedia:high explosives|high explosives]] and [[wikipedia:United Nations|UN]] approval. Knew absolutely nothing about the sport when she first arrived, but she's learning.
*'''Tawny''' is a [[Bobcat]] (''Lynx rufus''). She's Snowshoe's girlfriend. Shoey won't admit it, but if she wasn't keeping his gear cleaned and fixed, he'd never make it to the starting gate in time. He also won't admit she's a better player, and she'll let him win.
*'''Pirta (PJ)''' is a [[Snow leopard]] (''Uncia uncia''). She's a waitress at the Chinese-takeout place down the street. Pirta only knew of the shop antics from what the [[wikipedia:Emergency medical technician|EMT]]s and firemen told her when they'd come in after another call. That is, until she found out an old friend worked there…

==Making Of==
The author has a humorous look at how a typical strip is created [http://www.the-whiteboard.com/misc/af04.html on his site]

==Cameos==
Characters from and references to The Whiteboard have been featured in the following strips by other authors:
*[http://www.inktank.com/WW/index.cfm?nav=124 ''November 2, 2004''] in Weak-End Warriors.
*[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1100/fv01060.htm ''Jan 17, 2005''] in Freefall.
*[http://www.registeronecomic.com/index.php?comic=2005-04-22 ''April 22, 2005''] in Register One.
*[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20051020.html ''October 20, 2005''] in Schlock Mercenary.
*[http://www.drunkduck.com/The_KAMics/index.php?p=84254 ''September 4, 2006''] in The KAMics.
*[http://www.revolvercomic.com/view.php?date=2006-10-15 ''October 15, 2006''] in RevolverComic (spanish).

''The Whiteboard'' has itself done cameos of characters from over a hundred other webcomics, usually during the yearly Halloween parties.

==Critical Reaction==
Howard Tayler, author of Schlock Mercenary, wrote of [[The Whiteboard]]: "If you’re not already reading [[The Whiteboard]] as part of your daily trawl, I hope it’s not because you think the comic is only funny to paintballers. I’ve only paintballed once (an experience I found miserable) and the comic is one of my favorites."<ref name=Schlock>Tayler, Howard (August 16, 2006). "This run of The Whiteboard needs your attention". http://www.schlockmercenary.com/blog/index.php/2006/08/16/this-run-of-the-whiteboard-needs-your-attention/</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.the-whiteboard.com/ ''The Whiteboard'']
*[http://www.docsmachine.com/ ''Doc's Machine'']
*[http://www.docsmachine.com/tees/ ''TWB Print Books'']
*[[wikipedia:The Whiteboard|''Wikipedia Article'']]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whiteboard, The}}
[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:Alaska]]
{{Wikipedia|The Whiteboard}}

Bristled

2007-07-30T17:57:33Z

Madd the Sane: adding webcomic infobox

{{Infobox webcomic
| title = Bristled
| image = [[image:Bristled-2007-03-14-1.png]]
| caption = Beth and Ru present Az with a birthday present
| author = [[Stephanie Mebius]]
| url = http://www.bristled-comic.com
| status = Mondays
| began = 2006
| ended = Ongoing
| genre = ?
| rating = [[Image:Censor_PG_button.png]][[Category:Rated PG]]
}}
'''''Bristled''''' is a [[webcomic]] by [[Stephanie Mebius]] centered around the lives of three female roommates.

Started unofficially on [[deviantART]] in the summer of 2006, ''Bristled'' was given its own domain and website on 30 November. The comic was initially drawn in digital format consisting of black-and-white line art, with an occasional full-color comic. Due to the popularity of the colored version, it was then produced in full-color on a consistent basis. However, due to real-life constraints on the author, the comic has returned to a black-and-white format, with some gray shading included for added depth. Occasionally a full-color comic is still produced. It is created entirely in [[Wikipedia:Adobe Photoshop|Adobe Photoshop]], using a [[Wikipedia:Wacom|Wacom]] Intuos 9"x12" [[Wikipedia:graphics tablet|graphics tablet]].

==Characters==
The characters of ''Bristled'' are animals of varying [[species]], living together in a society that mimics real life. Though the [[anthropomorphism]] is evident in every facet of the comic, some instinctive behaviors still control their lives.

===Azraelle Wormser===
Often going by shortened names such as Az or Azzy, Azraelle is a common [[raccoon]]. Her [[fur]] is medium grey with a darker band of fur across the face, as is characteristic of raccoons in general. She wears a light blue shirt and jeans, and a gold bracelet on each wrist. Despite never being able to see her eye color in the comic itself, her right eye is brown and her left eye is blue. Her hair is also a dark blue; it is generally considered to be dyed this color.

Azraelle is known to be somewhat flippant regarding the "real world," and will often ignore facts and logical discussion that she does not consider fun. She is approximately 28 years old, has held intermittent temporary positions in data entry, but does not hold any sort of degree or higher education. Azraelle is notorious for eating large quantities of food amazingly fast, often to the chagrin of her roommate. She claims to have invented several "sure-fire" money-making schemes; her most famous is the "Sock Experience" that supposedly lets customers feel what it is like to be laundry. Azraelle is also addicted to the high-speed Internet connection that was active in the apartment until Beth had it shut off in order to reduce the monthly bill overhead.

If ever needed, Azraelle chooses to arm herself against threats with a garden shovel.

===Bethany Morrison===
Usually seen relaxing in the apartment wearing her signature pink ringer midriff shirt and grey sweatshorts, Beth is a blonde [[albino]] [[rabbit]] with oversized front teeth. She also typically wears gold hoop earrings. Though never seen in the comic, her eyes are red. She almost always keeps her hair tied back in a ponytail. When at work, she is seen wearing a black turtleneck with three-quarter-length sleeves and brown khakis.

Beth is a vegetarian, enjoys meditating (presumably to relieve the stress that her roommate Az causes her), and currently works for the [[Wikipedia:United States Post Office|United States Post Office]]. Though being a very active exerciser, Beth will also sit and watch her favorite television shows when her roommate isn't bugging her. She also enjoys reading and considers herself well-versed in literary history. She usually puts up an intelligent defense against Azraelle's mindless rants and annoyances. In response to Azraelle's carefree view of life, she sometimes feels she must take on the role of the "responsible one." This leads her to often act similar to Az's mother.

Beth's general dispostion is rather bleak; according to Azraelle, Beth has been seen to smile only twice in the last year. Although she is usually in a pessimistic state of mind, she rarely ever lashes out. But when she gets really upset, she will make a choking gesture with her hands. Az refers to this as the "Force-choke," and has only ever seen her use it once.

Despite her fit and healthy physique, Beth was very obese during junior and senior high school, earning the degrading nickname "Behemoth" by her hip, trend-following peers. This obesity subsided slightly after school, but was still present when she married a few years later. Beth is currently divorced.

===Ruac Lycia===
The newest tenant in the apartment previously shared only between Azraelle and Bethany, Ruac (or simply Ru) responded to an ad placed on a telephone pole (presumably placed by Azraelle). At first, Ru was tricked by Az into thinking that they needed another roommate in order to relieve financial stress caused by having a loved one on life support. In reality, it was simply an attempt by Az to keep high-speed Internet access. Despite this, Ru has agreed to stay in the apartment.

Ruac is a [[cheetah]] with dark grey hair and blond highlights. Her eye color is red, seen once in a close-up. She has a few eccentricities in her speech, often saying "yush" instead of "yes". She has mentioned that she has a large sum of money at her disposal, though exactly how she obtained it has not been revealed. She is generally cheerful and happy at all times.

Though there are currently three tenants sharing the apartment, the apartment itself only had two bedrooms. Ruac currently sleeps in Azraelle's bedroom, whereas Azraelle has volunteered to sleep on the couch. Since the apartment is inhabited by all females, Ru often feels it unnecessary to cover herself up after showering or bathing. The first time Beth saw her, Ruac was wearing only a purple towel on her head.

Ruac has a trans-dimensional shape-shifting specter, known only as "The Shadow," as a pet. She can communicate directly with it in person, and long-distance through a series of crystals.

===The Shadow===
Not much is known about the Shadow, other than it is a trans-dimensional shape-shifting specter, and that it belongs to and obeys commands from Ruac. Usually prefering to appear as a vaguely humanoid cloud with red eyes, it is capable of taking on many different forms, from simple objects to people. While in its cloudy form, it seems to only be able to communicate through grunts, slobbers, whines, and other similar sounds. However when it takes the form of another person, it can apparently adopt their speech patterns as well.

The Shadow can communicate with Ruac long-distance via a series of crystals that Ruac can set out. While Ruac speaks out loud during this process, the Shadow can simply relay his thoughts directly to Ruac. He is also apparently capable of direct-thought communication with anyone he chooses to touch (as seen in the dual-action episode "All Events Are In Real-Time," wherein he surrounded Beth with cloudy tendrils in order to give her pertinent information about what had been happening around her). At one point he even demonstrated the ability to temporarily override Ruac's body through her proximity to the crystals in order to inform Azraelle of information she was looking for.

===Other characters===

====Mr. Wallace====
Mr. Wallace is Azraelle's boss, a short, fair-tempered [[koala]].

====Doug Duncan====
Doug is one of Azraelle's co-workers, a [[dog|Golden Retriever]] who has a penchant for telling really bad jokes. Meeting him for the first time, Doug introduces himself to Az by using a gag hand. This prompts Azraelle to invent a linear scale by which to rank "lame" jokes, and naming the scale after Doug. (The false-hand gag was initially rated a 23, which she almost immediately raised to 24.5 after it was found that the gag hand wouldn't let go.)

====Rodney Poole====
Rodney, a dark-haired [[squirrel]], works with Beth at the Post Office, and secretly has a crush on her. He usually sits by himself at lunch time, but not out of loneliness, but rather seemingly out of respect for the "natural order of lunch" that he observes in his co-workers; a sort of peaceful, zen-like state that everyone supposedly reaches. Of course, to his co-workers, he is simply a loner.

====Craig Moyer====
Craig is a trouble-making domestic [[cat]] who works with Beth at the Post Office. He relates everything in his life to role-playing terms and concepts, and uses his lunch time to play tabletop role-playing games with his friends. He is quick to suspect his co-workers of schemes and keeping secrets, and generally doesn't seem to trust many people.

====Artemis Sweeney====
One of Craig's few close friends, Artemis is a [[bird]], although the exact species is unknown. He is only ever seen wearing dark sunglasses and a black beret. His headfeathers are tucked back under the beret, and appear to be dredlocked. Though less suspecting than Craig, he will go along with Craig's ideas when there's a chance he might be right.

====Crystal Lewis====
Another of Beth's co-workers, Crystal is a short [[ferret]] species with curly black hair, usually pulled back in a pony tail. She is usually very on-edge while at work, worrying about meeting her quota so she won't be fired.

====The Suit====
Bethany's interviewer and seemingly the Human Resources manager at the Post Office, The Suit is a dull-reddish [[fox]] in a grey business suit and sunglasses, bearing a striking similarity to [[Wikipedia:Agent Smith|Agent Smith]] in the ''[[Wikipedia:The Matrix|Matrix]]'' films. So far no name has been mentioned, but everyone at the Post Office seems to recognize him, and somewhat fear him. This may be due to the fact that he is known to dish out "sucker punches" at random.

====Frank Thomas====
Seen during a flashback story arc, Frank is Beth's ex-husband. He is a tall albino rabbit like Beth, but has dark hair and whiskers. His family owned a weight loss clinic that he was hoping to inherit. In order to do so, he wanted to find a sure-fire product that the clinic could sell, thus bringing the company out of debt.

====Steph====
On occasion, the author herself will appear in the comic to explain some information and generally just to break the fourth wall when needed. She appears as a brown raccoon, as opposed to Azraelle, who is grey. She is sometimes seen wearing glasses (as the author also will do), and changes outfits and hair style in every appearance. This is the only way the author will show herself in the comic. In the Bristled FAQ, she states that she cannot show photos of herself due to the claim that in order to make the comic successful she had to sell her soul. Thus, she will not actually photograph. She jokingly mentions that it's tough enough for people around her, because the only way to even see her in person is through reflections.

==Story and style==
''Bristled'' is usually shown using a typical four-panel layout, though in several episodes the layout has been increased to six panels, and in one case a total of twelve panels are used in a single episode. The characters are drawn in simplified forms, with strong lines and vivid colors. Speech appears over their heads in the typical comic-strip format, with the occasional narration in yellow rectangles.

The comic is set in the apartment that the three rent, but sometimes shows their various places of work. The time and place is a modern-day anthropomorphic USA; the locale is unspecified, but is generally considered to be an urban environment.

Though many of the episodes are self-contained "quickies," a few story arcs have also developed.

*The first story arc involved Azraelle's first day at her temp job, where she is required to use a co-worker's cubicle until one can be made ready for her. Later she rushes home during her lunch break to get her time card and finds herself distracted by snacks and an overwhelming urge to surf the Internet.
*In a later story, Beth confronts Azraelle about the lack of finances and suggests that they sacrifice the high-speed Internet access until they start pulling in more income. This causes Azraelle to object and suggest an alternate course of action: getting another roommate in order to relieve the strain caused by the rent money instead. As Beth is out applying for a job at the Post Office, Az interviews and agrees to let Ruac become the third roommate. When Beth comes home to find a naked Ruac in the apartment and Azraelle nowhere to be found, she calls Azraelle on her cell phone to find that she's out buying an online game (''[[Wikipedia:EverQuest II|EverQuest II]]''). After Beth finds out that Az tricked Ruac, she turns the tables on Az by having the high-speed Internet connection shut off anyway.
*In the Spring 2007 arc, Az finds Beth the next morning apparently suffering from extreme lack of sleep, mumbling about "the eyes." Taking her bed for the night, Az emerges a few hours later to find Beth terrorized by a strange figure in black. After whacking it with her trademark shovel, the creature takes the form of Ruac - unfortunately, the real Ruac turns up to spoil the fun. She appears to have power over the being, who she sends back to another dimension to "think about what it has done."
*When Beth receives an E-mail about the company summer picnic which states that she can bring a friend, she decides against telling Azraelle about it. Azraelle suspects something is up but is not sure what. She tells Ruac, who then enlists the help of the Shadow to secretly tag along with Beth to work, disguised as her left earring. However, after the Shadow realizes just how boring data entry can be, he takes it upon himself to wander away from Beth's ear. He inadvertantly causes a great deal of mayhem as Rodney trips and is knocked out while accidentally de-pantsing the Shadow, who has taken on Beth's form as a disguise. Artemis and Craig pursue the Shadow through the Post Office hallways, and culminating in the women's restroom. While Rodney faces being fired by the Suit for apparent sexual harrassment, Beth realizes that the Shadow has followed her to work and is causing all the problems around her. Striving to keep the Shadow's existence a secret and preventing Rodney's firing at the same time, she seeks help, only to be presented with a compensatory check for emotional damages that Rodney supposedly caused her. Before being given the choice to accept (and thus causing Rodney to lose his job) or turn it down with no proof of his innocence, a loud shriek is heard as Crystal discovers the unconscious body of Craig in the women's restroom.
*Simultaneously as the above plot, a smaller plot is being told in parallel back at the apartment, as Azraelle explains to Ruac about Beth's brief marriage to Frank. She first shows Ruac Beth's wedding photo, in which Beth appears moderately overweight. Azraelle explains that her husband was trying to save his family's weight-loss clinic from financial problems (and thus proving to his family that he deserves to inherit the business), when he was mysteriously contacted by a company selling black-market weight-loss products. Giving in to the prospect of making a lot of money, he promised to deliver the money needed in exchange for a wonder drug that allegedly caused dramatic weight loss results after taking only one pill.

==Bristled Lite==
Occasionally a special episode will be presented, labeled as "Bristled Lite." These segments are meant to be one-shots in which the author takes time to explain some piece of information, such as why the comic has taken so long to update. These episodes are generally not considered to be of the main, numbered procession of episodes (the author privately labels them by adding a B to the end of the last numbered episode).

Next to the Bristled Lite logo, a tag line often appears. Past episodes have had lines like "Now with half the effort!"; "Now Humor-Free!"; and "Recommended by that one doctor out of five who just HAS to be a trouble-maker!"

==Trivia==

* The first episode of ''Bristled'' is actually number fourteen. There are a total of thirteen unpublished episodes that the author had created before renaming the comic to "Bristled," and two since. She has hinted that they may be completed and published at a later date.
* The comic was originally to be named ''Fur Real'', and then later ''Fur Hire''. Later, as Steph was working out character concept sketches, the name "Bristled" came to her after drawing an image of Azraelle with her fur bristled up.
* The apartment where Az, Beth, and Ru live is number '73.' This number was inspired from the apartment number of one of Steph's friends in real life.
* The characters Azraelle Wormser and Ruac Lycia are actually the names of two player characters used in the online game ''[[Second Life]]''. The character of Azraelle belongs to the author herself, while Ruac Lycia is a friend; Bethany Morrison is the only main character that was created solely for the Bristled webcomic.
* The name Azraelle is a faux-feminization of the name [[Wikipedia:Azrael|Azrael]], most commonly known as the Angel of Death. Rumor is that the author started using the name as an homage to a [[cat]] that she used to own, having the feminized name.
* In the episode "On Your Toes" Beth is seen in a fantasy sequence riding a motorcycle that is based on a Suzuki SV-650s.
* In the episode "Regarding Bethany," the image of Beth's security badge includes her employee number, 19771216. This is actually Steph's birthdate (December 16th, 1977).
* Episode 56, "T.K.O.", featured an Easter-egg drawing of a Head Crab from the [[Wikipedia:Half-Life|Half-Life]] series of games located just above the logo; Steph has made several references to the game series throughout the comic.
* In the episode "Inner Conflict," two small figures that represent Beth's good and evil sides appear on her shoulders. The "good," who turns out was just there to find a good place to read, was in fact reading ''[[Wikipedia:Divine Comedy|The Divine Comedy]]'' by [[Wikipedia:Dante Alighieri|Dante Alighieri]].

==External links==
* ''[http://www.bristled-comic.com Bristled]''

[[Category:Comics]][[Category:2006 births]]

Tales of the Questor 2005-2006

2007-06-06T09:27:33Z

Madd the Sane: This page needs to be updated :(

This page contains a plot synopsis of the webcomic '''[[Tales of the Questor]]''' from 2005 to 2006. For the plot synopsis of the years 2001-2004, please see [[Tales of the Questor 2001-2004]].

{{spoiler}}

===2005===

With the recent revelation, Quentyn uses fire to kill several Wights and drive out the rest. With the Millfolk's arrival, and the realization that the rats were real, they retreat to the Dining Hall.

Using the book as a resource, Quentyn figures out how to destroy the Wights. Because they sense and feed on Lux, he has to be the one to go since he's the weakest mage there. Using Squidge as a guide, Quentyn travels down into the sewer and finds a door to the lab of one Rosad Athair Beither, the "evilest Rac Conan ever" - a monster hunter turned mad scientist who lived centuries ago.

After sending Squidge back with a message, Quentyn goes in alone and discovers a Rat King, five rats bound together by their tails. They are the source and controller of the Wights. They create more Wights and trap Quentyn. His body would provide sufficient food to allow the Rat King to produce enough shadow rats to overrun the city.

In a last ditch effort, Quentyn heroically hurls himself through the Wights massed in front of him, and though bleeding profusely, manages to kill the Rat King and destroy the Wights.

He nearly dies from blood loss and injuries. He has a near death experience in which he comes before Yeshua and believes himself a sinner who threw his life away. Yeshua believes otherwise but tells Quentyn that it is not his time. The White Stag licks Quentyn and he wakes up to find Squidge biting him in order to make him stay awake and seek help.

Quentyn finds a ladder up to the surface and collapses before a patrol. He's taken to the hospital where everyone piles in to see him when he wakes up: Nessie, Emmett, the Millfolks, his parents, and a guardsman.

Nessie, it turns out, was the one who found Quentyn. Her Kenning abilities alerted her to the Wights and to where Quentyn was. Speaking to Quentyn and Emmet alone, the guard informs Quentyn that the Council and the Guard want Quentyn to play down what Quentyn saw in the lab.

Quentyn and Emmet are told that Rosad Beither had disciples, and that the Council didn't want to risk a panic by revealing that. Emmet and Quentyn are unhappy and think that lying to the people is wrong, but have not disputed the official story put out about the Wights. At least not yet.

Quentyn also confronts the Millfolks about the doctor who advised Lady Millfolk not to go to Colin, and gives his own advice to the Millfolks, earning the ire of Lady Millfolks' mother-in-law. Colin's Night Terrors are cured, the Brownies return and adopt Quentyn into their tribe. Then Quentyn gets news about his sword.

The sword may have the most unique Lux pattern in the world, and it contains eight new runes, which look startlingly familiar to [[wikipedia:logic gate|logic gates]] used in microprocessors. He learns that the sword is indeed bonded to him until the day he dies, so that only he can use it. While he can't control what it does, he can remove the Sales Pitch Spell by naming the sword. He appropriately names it Wildcard.

We also learn from Kestrel that her and Quentyn's friend '''Fen''' is obsessed with trying to catch a Fae song by sitting in a Fae Rath (Fairy Ring).

Quentyn prepares to return home. However, as he's buying a ticket back, his pack, in which he has stowed Wildcard, is stolen from him. The thief gets away with Quentyn's most prized possession. The thief, who wore a purple scarf, did so as an initiation to a gang called the Royals, all of their members wear purple. The thief is accepted when Wildcard is handed over.

Quentyn agonizes over what to do and finally decides to go "undercover" to get his sword back. Squidge, who stowed away in his money pouch, helps Quentyn get in touch with the Brownies, who agree to help him look for the sword.

As they're doing this, Quentyn first sends a message to his parents saying that his homecoming will be delayed; he then goes into a tavern in order to find information about the gang that robbed him.

During a chess game, he learns that the Royals, whose color matches that of the scarf that the thief wore, run the high alleys; he goes there in order to spy on them. His early attempts end up landing him in jail until Squidge pays bail. Quentyn is no closer to the Royals.

He instead chooses to spy on them from above which presents different troubles, including angry citizens with guns and crashing through the roof of someone's home, once again landing him in jail. He pays bail again, but this time is informed by the officer who arrested him both times, one Officer Mulharney, that he'll be keeping a close eye on Quentyn.

Desperate and not thinking clearly due to the separation anxiety he feels over the loss of Wildcard, Quentyn abandons all pretense at subtlety and wanders from tavern to tavern in the Tumbledowns, asking about the Royals. In one such locale he gets an answer in the form of a rival gang: the Red Caps. They throw him out of the bar, thinking him a spy for their rivals.

They strip his shirt off him, hoping to verify this through whatever gang tattoos, brands, or marks he might had. That Quentyn has none proves that he is not a spy nor a member of any gang.

However the Red Caps decide that they don't like "no-names" any more than they do enemy gangs so they decide to "mess him up." Quentyn uses his glimmer rope (which he was wearing as a belt) in order to climb up a wall and escape, with the Red Caps in hot pursuit.

After a frantic chase through the Tumbledowns, Quentyn discovers the large wall that separates the Tumbledowns from the Good Neighborhoods and finds a small crack in it he can climb through. As he's crawling through the Red Caps catch up with him and attempt to pull him back in since they're too big to fit through and the wall's too high to climb. While they fail to keep hold of Quentyn, they do succeed in ripping his pants off, leaving Quentyn naked on the other side of the wall in a affluent gated community called Silvergate.

Quentyn sneaks into a large household having a party in the hopes of snatching something he can use for clothes. Meribeth, the barmaiden from Freeman Downs, is inside; her great aunt Rubey is hosting the gala. Quentyn, meanwhile, sneaks into a broom closet and in the process overhears a conversation regarding two men who may be behind the gang troubles in Sanctuary. However, an incoming servant cuts his listening short and he's forced to flee down a hall. Tripping over a mop, he finds himself on stage in front of everyone, still naked, and mistaken for a Bard.

Quentyn freaks out after seeing Meribeth in the crowd and throws a potted plant out the window, through which he escapes. He is then seen in prison. We hear that he was arrested after running from several guards, including two females. The Adjudicator dismisses the numerous charges against Quentyn--disturbing the peace, resisting arrest, public indecency, et al--as he thinks that Quentyn has suffered enough.

Quentyn is released and, once again clothed, pounds the streets of the Tumbledowns, furious at his humiliation and lack of success. He then stumbles upon a trio of Red Caps beating up a kit with a purple hat - the Royals' insignia. By a combination of skill and luck, he and Squidge knock out the Red Caps. When Quentyn tries to escape with the kit he is stopped by one of the guards (Mulharney again), and is so frustrated at being caught again that he kicks the guard in the groin.

Grateful for his rescue and amused at seeing the guard beaten up, the kit invites Quentyn back to the Royals' hideout where he can lie low for a while. Quentyn is amazed at his luck, but is less happy when the kit tells him to leave Squidge behind because the Royals' leader believes all small fae, or "grubbers" as he calls them, are spies for the guards.

Quentyn arrives at the Royals' hideout and is allowed to stay. A party is thrown when they hear of his injuring Mulharney and in the course of the party all of the Royals get either drunk or high and consequently fall asleep, allowing Quentyn to look for and ultimately find his sword. However, it is highly guarded by various Lux-powered wards. The kit Quentyn had rescued discovers him staring at his sword and admonishes him for such a risky move. The kit also reveals that he was the one who had stolen Wildcard from Quentyn.

Two days later, an unknown buyer appears. He demands that all grunt Royals leave the hideout, but Quentyn manages to sneak back in. The buyer notices the sword and the fact that it isn't properly warded, but gives up all apparent interest when the Royals leader, Viktor, claims it as a trophy. The exchange complete, the buyer leaves the hideout. A conversation between he and his partner implies that they are the two men who Quentyn overheard conspiring [http://npc.comicgenesis.com/d/20050805.html here.]

A Royal discovers Quentyn in his hiding place, who jumps through a hole in the floor and promptly sprains his ankle. He is captured and brought before Viktor. One of the females recognizes Quentyn as a Questor. Due to this, Viktor and the others decide to give Quentyn the beating of a lifetime, abandoning his battered body in a trashbin. Coincidentally, Squidge had been hiding in the bin. Quentyn vehemently swears to get his sword back.

After quite a bit of preparation, Quentyn lures the Redcaps straight into the Royals hideout, thus sparking a massive brawl. He subsequently uses some poppers to scare a couple of tree apes into demolishing the Royals hideout. As the gang members stumble out of the ruins, Quentyn activates another of his tricks, unleashing a tremendous charge of lux within a matter of seconds. This disables all lux-powered items within a hundred yards, including the wards and lux tappers surrounding Wildcard. The connection restored, Quentyn summons Wildcard back to his hand.

At that moment, the City Guard appears and takes everyone prisoner. Quentyn is released in a matter of hours, but not before a conversation with several of the higher-ups of Sanctuary City. All charges against Quentyn are dropped, much to the dismay of Mulharney. Just as the elders begin to formulate a grand conspiracy theory regarding the human coins found at the gang hideouts, Quentyn deflates the theory by pointing out that the coins are counterfeit.

As he is about to leave the police station, Squidge says that he managed to get someone from Freeman Downs to pay for his legal fees - Meribeth. Viktor, in a nearby cell, spouts various threats at Quentyn until he forcefully shuts him up and reciprocates with the threats. In true Quentyn fashion, however, he throws up as soon as he exits the station.

Meribeth follows Quentyn outside to console him and reveals that back when Quentyn and his friends got drunk for the first time, they hadn't been drinking blackberry sherry, but blackberry brandy - a much more potent drink. As it turns out, Meribeth had mixed up the bottles, which is why she felt that she owed Quentyn a favor.

In a dark room, Mulharney speaks to a figure obscured by the darkness. Through his conversation with the man, Mulharney reveals that while the coins were indeed counterfeit, the conspiracy theory was most certainly not. Mulharney also reveals the shady figure as one of the elders present at Quentyn's police station debriefing and that, as he already knew Quentyn ([http://npc.comicgenesis.com/d/20050325.html He is the city guard depicted here.]), Mulharney had actually helped Quentyn along his quest through his actions. While Mulharney knows that he can do little to expose this plot, he leaves the shady figure with a warning that future endeavors of the sort will not fare as well.

Once at home, Quentyn is summoned before the council. Gilder, as expected, is absolutely outraged and in the middle of a fierce diatribe when a message from the Sanctuary City council arrives, absolving Quentyn of all criminal charges. However, the board still votes to censure Quentyn for his rash actions.

Quentyn angrily tromps home. In a nearby bar, Rahan and his cohorts poke fun at him from afar until Meribeth comes by and calmly rebukes his accusers.

===2006===

Fearing parental retribution for his actions, Quentyn enters his home through the kitchen door, where he finds Squidge happily eating a pie. Squidge reveals that he had sought out Quentyn's parents beforehand and told them everything about his Sanctuary City exploits. Quentyn fearfully steps into the living room, asking his parents to hear him out. However, his parents burst into laughter instead of admonishing their child.

At Gilder's house, Gilder continues to vent about the Questor situation to his wife, claiming that this anachronistic behavior will only lead to ruin for the town.

Quentyn visits Rilcreek, who explains to him why he voted for censure: firstly, to play politics and maintain his influence in the council, secondly, to ensure that no harsher punishments would be suggested, and finally, to express genuine disapproval of Quentyn's actions. Unexpectedly, what Rilcreek took offense to was not Quentyn's actions, but rather his weak defense of said actions. To that end, Rilcreek gives Quentyn a Questor journal to ensure that Quentyn's account of the actions appears in the news scrips first.

Reading angry letters from people who had read the erroneous and sensationalized news scrip accounts, demanding retractions and corrections from the news scrips, and recovering from Rahan's pranks take up much of Quentyn's time in the subsequent weeks.

One night, Quentyn receives a letter from the council allowing for the removal of his censure if he agreed to several very limiting requirements and what turns out to be the journal of a former Questor of Freeman Downs.

Exercising his Questor powers, Quentyn summons an elder council meeting in the middle of the night. He reads out loud a passage from the journal of the former Questor, who is revealed as the first Quentyn the Questor. He then proceeds to harshly rebuke the council's actions; the council revokes the censure two days later.

With Squidge's help, Quentyn also puts an end to Rahan's pranks, forcing Rahan's family to pay considerable damages. The arc ends with Quentyn happily gloating about his revenge.

In "A Brief Interlude," a few unfortunate Rac Conans find themselves careening wildly through a field as they try to control their wind-powered lev-carriage. In the words of a traditional lev-carriage driver, "That ... is why you don't see no sail-powered lev-carriages."

In yet another “Meanwhile...” Fen is discovered sleeping in the Fae Rath again. As Fen shuffles off to bed, his teacher expresses concern over his obsession with the Rath. The comic flashes back to a few months prior, revealing the root of Fen’s obsession with the Rath - he wishes to become a living legend by retrieving a whole song from the Elsewhere.

Eventually, one of the teachers forces Fen to take some time off from school and the Fae Rath, as his grades have begun to slip due to his spending every available hour in the Rath. As he spends the free days sulking, the teacher enlists Kestrel’s help. Kestrel, with the help of a rebuilt golem, drags Fen away from his room and into the glorious outdoors. She realizes that Fen wants to use the Fae Rath as a fast track to success.

Kestrel discovers that Rath had created his own Fae Rath. It is later revealed that he had heard a song in the Fae Rath and stood idly by, listening instead of recording. Ever since then, he has been trying to catch another song, but has been unable to hear one.

''To be continued as the comic develops further''.
===2007===

''To be continued as the comic develops further''.
==Books==
The first two compilations of Questor comics are available to buyers on [[Wikipedia:Lulu.com|Lulu]]. Volume 1 is 223 pages long, and costs $41.99. Volume 2 is 170 pages long, priced at $39.99.

==External links==
*[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/Index.html Tales of the Questor website]
*[http://forums.keenspace.com/viewforum.php?forum=527 old Tales of the Questor forums]
*[http://www.rhjunior.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=5b162c89d2dd0151b191cff77ed6f0d6 new Tales of the Questor forums]
*[http://people.lulu.com/users/index.php?fHomepage=135246 Tales of the Questor, print editions]

[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:2001 births]]
{{Wikipedia|Tales of the Questor}}

Over the Hedge (film)

2007-06-06T09:17:12Z

Madd the Sane: /* References */ removing unused references to templates

{{Cleanup}}
[[image:Over the hedge poster.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Over the Hedge poster]]
'''''Over The Hedge''''' is a [[Wikipedia:computer animation|computer-animated]] film based on the [[Wikipedia:United Media|United Media]] [[Wikipedia:Over the Hedge|comic strip of the same name]]. Directed by [[Wikipedia:Tim Johnson|Tim Johnson]] and [[Wikipedia:Karey Kirkpatrick|Karey Kirkpatrick]] and produced by [[Wikipedia:Bonnie Arnold|Bonnie Arnold]], it was released in the United States on May 19, 2006.

Produced by [[Wikipedia:DreamWorks Animation|DreamWorks Animation]] and distributed by [[Wikipedia:Paramount Pictures|Paramount Pictures]] (due to [[Wikipedia:Viacom|Viacom]]'s -- the parent of Paramount -- acquisition of its former parent company [[Wikipedia:DreamWorks|DreamWorks SKG]]), the film was rated [[Wikipedia:MPAA film rating system|PG]] by the [[Wikipedia:Motion Picture Association of America|MPAA]] for some rude humor and mild comic action. The movie was made in Redwood City, California

A soundtrack, "[[Wikipedia:Over the Hedge (Music from the Motion Picture)|Over the Hedge]]", featuring music by [[Wikipedia:Ben Folds|Ben Folds]], was released by [[Wikipedia:Epic Records|Epic Records]] and [[Wikipedia:Sony Music Soundtrack|Sony Music Soundtrack]].

''Over The Hedge'' won the [[Ursa Major Awards#2006|2006 Ursa Major Award]] for ''Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture''.

==Movie==
===Summary===
{{spoiler}}
RJ, the [[Raccoon|Raccoon]] (voiced by [[Wikipedia:Bruce Willis|Bruce Willis]]), after unsuccessfully trying to get a snack item from a [[Wikipedia:vending machine|vending machine]], ventures into the cave of the hibernating [[bear]] Vincent ([[Wikipedia:Nick Nolte|Nick Nolte]]). While attempting to steal Vincent's cache of goods, as well as his red wagon and blue cooler, RJ accidentally wakes Vincent, who after realizing what RJ is doing, attempts to scare him into giving his stuff back. RJ, in a panic, knocks the wagon of food into the street, it looks ok, and RJ and Vincent laugh about it, when it is run over by a truck and is destroyed. The furious Vincent gives RJ an ultimatum: replace everything within a week, or get eaten. RJ finds the new [[Wikipedia:suburbs|suburban]] development El Rancho Camelot Estates in western [[Wikipedia:Indiana|Indiana]] where he can steal all the replacement items he needs. There, a community of [[foraging|foragers]] led by the practical [[turtle]], Verne ([[Wikipedia:Garry Shandling|Garry Shandling]]), awakens from hibernation. He immediately directs his charges — Hammy (RJ during the film calls him "Hamilton") the cookie-addicted, hyperactive [[squirrel]] ([[Steve Carell]]); Stella the [[skunk]] with attitude ([[Wanda Sykes]]); Ozzie the [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearian]] [[opossum]] ([[William Shatner]]) and his 16-year-old frequently embarrassed daughter Heather ([[Avril Lavigne]]); and [[Minnesota]]-accented [[porcupine]]s Lou ([[Eugene Levy]]) and [[Canada|Canadian]]-accented Penny ([[Catherine O'Hara]]), and their young offspring Spike, Bucky, and Quillo — to start their yearly search for food to store. To their surprise and trepidation, they discover a [[hedge]]: which they call 'Steve' until RJ directs them otherwise. RJ, coming onto the scene, prompts them to scavenge for the food treasures he promises they'll find beyond it, while Verne fears for what traps or predators also await. Yet a determined and desperate RJ gets the woodland creatures to explore. Using a combination of con artistry and [[caper movie]] antics, they successfully snatch a wagon full of [[Girl Scout]]-like [[cookie]]s (which begins Hammy's addiction). Seeing this, the whole group except Verne joins in and begins to steal other foods from the neighborhood of overfed, [[SUV]]-driving humans, along with other items on the list RJ secretly keeps.

All this prompts the ire of home-owner association president Gladys Sharp ([[Allison Janney]]) , who hires a pest-control specialist Dwayne LaFontant, who calls himself The Verminator ([[Thomas Haden Church]]). Seeing this, and realizing that they might be in danger, Verne tries to return everything they've stolen as a bargain to the humans to spare their lives — leading to an action set-piece involving himself and RJ, a chasing, "play"-spouting dog, a wagon piled high with goods and goodies, and a canister of [[barbecue]] [[propane]], and a backyard [[slide]] that launches the wagon, Verne and RJ into the sky. The sequence ends with the two animals falling, unhurt, to earth, while the errant, ad hoc rocket crashes in a stylized, [[Wikipedia:mushroom-cloud|mushroom-cloud]] fireball. When RJ and Verne are rocketed back over the hedge, RJ and the other animals get mad at Verne. While trying to warn the others of RJ's plan to use them, Verne turns on RJ, and claims that him is making his friends do whatever he likes because they're "too stupid and naiive to know any better". Verne then tries to take back what he said, but the damage has already been done, and circumstances get worse as Verne tries to come up with a less hurtful description, and says ignorant. But no one is more hearbroken then Hammy, as Verne's hand was unintentionally pointing at ''him'' during his outburst. Hammy tearfully says "I'm not stupid", and takes the comment seriously with him being very hyperactive and somewhat childlike. Angry and hurt, Verne's friends leave him, and the turtle is all alone. Verne is then by himself, as he wonders what is truly best for his family and whether he belongs in it any more. But Verne isn't the only one with problems.

During his time with the foragers, RJ can't resist but having a growing affection for all of them. They're so kind, soft, and even give him a spot for himself so he wouldn't need to sleep on a tree. He slowly realizes that he shouldn't be using them for his own selfish needs, but should he blurt them out his secret and break their hearts?

RJ then goes to Verne, cools down and cheers him up. With RJ's help, Verne apologizes to his reluctant friends, and they welcome him back. Now, RJ stages the biggest heist yet, from the supplies of the big "welcome to the neighborhood" party Gladys plans for the following day. With Stella disguised as a cat, in order to distract the haughty guard-cat Tiger, the others raid her kitchen. They're almost in the clear when RJ. spies a can of Spuddies — Vincent's favorite food, and the last item on the list — and in trying to retrieve it, like at the beginning, keeps the rest of the crew in the house long enough for Gladys to spot them. The Verminator's traps catch all of the animals — all except RJ, who escapes with the wagon of Vincent's replacement goods. As the caged others are driven away, RJ meets Vincent in the woods, where the bear congratulates RJ on successfully "conning the suckers" and getting what he needed. He paints himself and RJ as two of a kind. Realizing the path to which his unchecked drifting will lead, RJ turns on Vincent, who didn't deserve all the food, and uses the piled-high wagon to crash into the Verminator's van, launching a rescue attempt. The enraged Vincent goes after RJ, determined to kill him. While being chased by the bear, the young porcupines direct the Verminator's van into the home of Gladys Sharp, much to her dislike. Vincent is donked by a hammer, pricked by Penny, and is finally sent flying with a balloon - a scene which is a parody to the ending of [[Alien (film)]]. All of the animals pull out of the van as the verminator regains consciousness.

Vincent lands on the animal's side of the hedge, where he begins to claw furiously to get RJ, while the verminator activates his electric wand and attempts to poke out the animals, determined to finish the job. Suddenly, the back door to Gladys' home swings open, and she emerges and clicks on the dreaded weed whacker and begins to swing furiously at the hedge, exclaiming "Show your ratty little faces! Stay in the woods where you belong?!" Trapped between Vincent and the humans, RJ and Verne quickly concoct a plan. They give a highly [[caffeine|caffeinated]] cola to the already [[adrenaline]]-rushing Hammy (notorious throughout the film for his ridiculously high levels of speed and uncontrolled energy), leading to a scene (reminiscent of others from U.S. [[TV]]'s ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'', Episode 70 of ''[[Futurama]]'' (''[[Three Hundred Big Boys]]'') and the [[DC Comics]] character [[The Flash]]) where his perceptions and motion are so sped up that the world appears to stand still, as if time has stopped. Hammy, strolling along but at super-speed with his power to travel through time itself, adjusts the trap controls (and collects one of his beloved cookies on the way). As he slows down back to normal speed (seen as the rest of the world gradually speeding up to him), RJ and Verne's plan succeeds, leading to Vincent getting trapped and set to be shipped to the [[Wikipedia:Rocky Mountains|Rockies]], Gladys fighting with the authorities and being arrested not only for the illegal man trap she arranged, but also for assaulting a police officer, and the Verminator tiptoeing away from the scene, only to be chased by the playful dog from before. RJ, now a hero to the other animals in deed as well as in word, settles down and agrees to be a father figure to the animal community. They in turn explain that if they had been truthfully told about RJ's predicament in the beginning, they would have helped him settle his debt, "...because that’s what families do", says Verne.

After the credits, the characters return to the vending machine RJ visited during the opening scene, now fully stocked. The entire vending machine is emptied in one shot to the delight of all, but the PUSH bar cannot be moved and no food can be retrieved. Hammy comments, "Kinda anti-climactic."
{{endspoiler}}

The animals are shown to survive, as they appear in "Hammy's Boomerang Adventure", a short film exclusively for the DVD.

===Voice cast===
* [[Bruce Willis]] - [[RJ]] the [[Raccoon]]
* [[Garry Shandling]] - [[Verne]] the [[Turtle]]
* [[Steve Carell]] - [[Hammy]] the [[Squirrel]]
* [[William Shatner]] - [[Ozzie]] the [[Opossum]]
* [[Avril Lavigne]] - [[Heather]], Ozzie's daughter
* [[Wanda Sykes]] - [[Stella]] the [[Skunk]]
* [[Nick Nolte]] - Vincent the [[Bear]]
* [[Allison Janney]] - Gladys Sharp
* [[Thomas Haden Church]] - Dwayne LaFontant, The Verminator
* [[Eugene Levy]] - Lou the [[Porcupine]]
* [[Catherine O'Hara]] - Penny, Lou's wife
* Sami Kirkpatrick - Bucky, one of Lou and Penny's kids
* Shane Baumel - Spike, one of Lou and Penny's kids
* Madison Davenport - Quillo, one of Lou and Penny's kids
* [[Brian Stepanek]] - Nugent the [[Dog]]
* [[Omid Djalili]] - Tiger the [[Persian (cat)|Persian]]
* Zoe Randol - Mackenzie
* [[Jessica Di Cicco]] - Shelby
* [[Debra Wilson]] - Debbie
* Sean Bishop - Police Officer
* Jeannie Elias - Janis
* Kejon Kesse - Timmy
* Paul Butcher - Skeeter
* [[Sean Yazbeck]] - BBQ Barry
* Geoffrey Pomeroy - Ranger
* Joel McCrary - Dr. Dennis
* [[Lee Bienstock]] - Lunch Table Larry
* Additional Voices by [[Steve Alterman]], [[Kirk Bailey]], [[Jessie Flower]], [[Nicholas Guest]], [[David Hiller]], [[Bridget Hoffman]], [[Sandy Holt]], [[Talula Holt]], [[Erin Lander]], [[Jordan Orr]], [[Michelle Ruff]], [[Greyson Spann]], [[Marcelo Tubert]], [[Ariel Winter]]

===Crew===
* Directed by [[Tim Johnson]] and [[Karey Kirkpatrick]]
* Produced by [[Bonnie Arnold]]
* Executive producer [[Bill Damaschke]]
* Screenplay by [[Len Blum]] and [[Lorne Cameron]] & [[David Hoselton]] and [[Karey Kirkpatrick]]
* Music by [[Rupert Gregson-Williams]]
* Songs by [[Ben Folds]]

===Reception===
The film's opening weekend grossed $38,457,003 in 4,093 theaters. As of July 19, 2006, the film had earned $239,307,057 worldwide.<ref>[http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=overthehedge.htm Box Office Mojo: ''Over the Hedge'']</ref>
Critical reaction was mostly positive with the film being rated 75% on the [[Rotten Tomatoes]] movie review aggregate site. Critic [[Frank Lovece]] of ''Film Journal International'' found that, "DreamWorks' slapstick animated adaptation of the philosophically satiric comic strip ... is a lot of laughs and boasts a much tighter story than most animated features"<ref>[http://filmjournal.com/filmjournal/reviews/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002539020 ''Film Journal Internationl'': ''Over the Hedge'' review by Frank Lovece]</ref> Ken Fox of ''[[TV Guide|TVGuide.com]]'' called it "a sly satire of American 'enough is never enough' consumerism and blind progress at the expense of the environment. It's also very funny, and the little woodland critters that make up the cast are a kiddie-pleasing bunch".<ref>[http://online.tvguide.com/newsearch/detail.aspx?id=46819&sourcetype=m&progseriesparentid=0&tvobjectid=0&keyword=&more=ucmoviereview TV Guide Online ''Over the Hedge'' review by Ken Fox]</ref> Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper of "Ebert & Roeper" gave the animated movie a "two thumbs up". <ref>[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060518/REVIEWS/60509002/1023 RogerEbert.com: ''Chicago Sun-Times'' (May 19, 2006): ''Over the Hedge'' review by Roger Ebert]</ref> <ref>[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/author-3822/?letter=o&cats=1%2C+2%2C+3%2C+4%2C+5%2C+7%2C+8%2C+29%2C+12%2C+13%2C+14%2C+16%2C+17%2C+18%2C+19%2C+20%2C+21%2C+22%2C+24%2C+23%2C+26%2C+27&genreid=&switches=# Rottentomatoes.com: Richard Roeper]</ref> [[Michael Medved]] gave ''Over the Hedge'' three stars (out of four) saying even though "..the P.C. messages that families come in all shapes and sizes is a bit gratuitous and heavy-handed..", overall he found the movie "..surprisingly satisfying..".<ref> [http://www.townhall.com/TalkRadio/Show.aspx?ContentGuid=bc60d434-3670-4284-973a-30fb02b1fffe&RadioShowId=4]</ref>
Jeffery Katzenberg is considering making a sequel to the movie, due to its success and the maker's love of the characters.

===Animals featured===
*[[Raccoon]] (RJ)
*[[Turtle|Box Turtle]] (Verne)
*[[European Red Squirrel]] (Hammy)
*[[Striped Skunk]] (Stella)
*[[North American Porcupine]] (Penny, Lou, Bucky, Quillo and Spike)
*[[Opossum|Virginia Opossum]] (Ozzie and Heather)
*[[Black Bear]] (Vincent)
*[[Firefly]] (Seen above RJ's head twice and once above Verne's head, resembling the [[lightbulb gag]] in cartoons)
*[[Bee]] (Used by Hammy to make [[honey]] on a piece of [[wood]], mentioned in the upcoming ''Bee Movie'', an animated film set for November 2007)
*[[Dragonfly]] (Seen caught in [[bug zapper]])
*[[Dog]] (Nugent)
*[[Cat]] (Tiger)
*[[Human]] (Gladys, Verminator, and various others)

===Trivia===
*Some retail chains offered different promotional items with purchase of the DVD. [[Target Corporation|Target]]: Bonus full length CD called "Rockin Rj's From Suburbia," [[Best Buy]]: Bonus book of the comic strips called "Stuffed Animals," [[Wal-Mart]]: Bonus DVD called "Hammy's Nutty-Fun DVD," [[K-Mart]]: Hammy Plush. [[Blockbuster Video]]: Included an exclusive metal tin for storing the DVD Case.
*The film is the first from DreamWorks Animation SKG to be based on a comic strip.
*[[Jim Carrey]] was originally announced to voice RJ.
*The movie was banned in [[People's Republic of China|China]], because of its "deception of free world". {{fact}}
*The film has certain similarities to the [[Isao Takahata]] movie ''[[Pom Poko]]''. ''Over the Hedge'' does not, however, develop the themes of environmentalism or anti-urbanization, and focuses on the animals' harmless preying on the bumbling humans, making the similarities between the two films contextual rather than substantive. As the critic for ''Film Journal International'' suggested (link under "References"), a closer comparison might be to [[Meredith Willson]]'s ''[[The Music Man]]'', which also centers on a slick con artist redeemed by his marks, and finding a surrogate family. The commentary track on the DVD confirms that the movie version of RJ (right down to his habit of carrying a bag) was partially inspired by Professor Harold Hill.
*During the scene where Ozzie plays dead, he spies a rose bush and mutters, "Rosebud". That is a reference to ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' in which Charles Foster Kane mutters a cryptic "Rosebud" before he passes away.
*Nugnet is actually not named in this film.
*When Verne the turtle is in his shell, he has a short, stubby tail. However, when out of his shell, he has human-style buttocks. This continuity flub is necessitated by two sight-gags involving buttocks, as well as dialogue referencing the tail.
*The logo of Dwayne LaFontaine, the Verminator's pest and vermin control company, featuring a man resembling himself hitting a rabbit with a hammer, is a spoof of a pest control company in [[California]], [[Nevada]], and [[Arizona]]; namely one Western Extermination Company, whose logo features a man named Kernel Kleenup with a top hat and suit about to squash a rat with his hammer.[http://www.west-ext.com/little_man.html]
*During the rolling end credits, the ''Over the Hedge'' comic strip can be seen three times - once, the porcupine kids are being taught to read with one; Hammy paints a portrait of RJ and Verne in the style of the strip, and finally, RJ shows three panels of a strip, and Vern, reluctantly, displays the final frame on his back. Also during the credits, Hammy references [[Khan Noonien Singh]]'s plot against [[James T. Kirk|Captain Kirk]] in ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'' (which was also distributed by Paramount Pictures and also stars [[William Shatner]], as Kirk).
*The child who plays one of the porcupine triplets, Bucky, is Sami Kirkpatrick, the son of Karey Kirkpatrick, one of the directors of the film.
*Both Eugene Levy (Lou) and Catherine O'Hara (Penny) were once regulars on ''[[Wikipedia:Second City Television|SCTV]]''.
*The infamous [[Wikipedia:THX|THX]] [[Wikipedia:Deep Note|Deep Note]] is used in a scene late in the film, and the famous "The usual, sir?" [[Wikipedia:Maxell|Maxell]] commercial is parodied as well. Also noted is that the movie itself is THX enhanced.
*In the scene where the animals are in the hedge and Dwayne is shooting his ray into the hedge, it is a parody of 2005's movie adaptation of ''[[Wikipedia:War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds]]'' (a Paramount/DreamWorks co-production) when the tripods are firing the heat-rays onto the street.
*In this film, Thomas Hayden Church plays an exterminator. In another animated summer release of 2006, ''[[Wikipedia:The Ant Bully|The Ant Bully]]'', [[Paul Giamatti]] plays an exterminator. Both actors had leading roles in the film ''[[Sideways]]''.
*Both ''[[Wikipedia:Hoodwinked|Hoodwinked]]'' and ''Over the Hedge'' feature a hyperactive squirrel who climatically drinks a caffeinated beverage to save the day.
*In the beginning of the movie the Hedge is called 'Steve' by Hammy during his first encounter of the Hedge. This is a direct take from the comic strip in which the character says the same thing and also [[Wikipedia:Steve Carrell|Steve Carrell]] is the actor that voices Hammy.



==Comic==

The Over The Hedge [[comic strip]] is the work of Michael Fry and T. Lewis. Fry is the writer, Lewis is the artist. They first worked together in 1992 on Mickey Mouse comic strips. Each has had success on their own, with Fry as a screenwriter and Lewis illustrating children's books. They live in separate parts of the United States, collaborating electronically on the strip.

The strip follows the lives of RJ, a [[raccoon]]; and Verne, a [[turtle]]. RJ has a sort of Zen spontaneity and Verne is a reserved worrywart that the strip hinted talks like Garry Shandling. He has a secret enjoyment of the music of John Tesh--RJ once baited him with his newest CD, "More Music To Eat Mayonnaise By". Most of the forest they live in has been stripped down to make a housing division called El Rancho Camelot. However, they, along with the other animals in the forest, aren't interested in retaking the land. They very much enjoy human culture. From raiding garbage cans for food and rating the preservatives used to staking out hot tubs, they recognize this isn't the best or healthiest way to live, but they can't give it up. RJ, in fact, has a near pathological addiction to Twinkies, such as his 1947 Twinkie that is "still soft" and "in mint condition". Sometimes, more extreme measures are employed, such as flyfishing steaks off a grill or distracting a family while other animals use a blowtorch to cut through a wall and get to the fridge.

In addition to RJ and Verne, the strip includes Hammy the squirrel. Hammy didn't appear when the strip first started. He was referenced in a series as being run over by a minivan, and he was buried in a pizza box. He started appearing and his name eventually became Sammy, but was changed back to Hammy after a while. Hammy is a edgy little guy who isn't completely aware of his surroundings, expressing shock when he discovered that thing he sort of knew was behind him was a tail (he was even more impressed when he discovered he had thumbs). He's not exactly a star of the strip, but he rounds out the central duo very well, despite how much he annoys Verne ("'Let's get a squirrel,' you said, 'The readers love squirrels'").

Other characters include Luby the raccoon and Velma the turtle, the sort of objects of RJ and Verne affections, even though they don't think very much of the "Boys In The Wood."

Another character who pops up occasionally is The Tree That Knows Stuff, a sentient tree that the characters seek information and advice from. He occasionally has to deal with RJ trying to muscle in on his job.

Another incidental character is Fred The Wood Tick, who appears as only a dot and has to be identified when he first appears with an arrow explaining what he is.

One character who was fairly prominent when the series first started was Plushie, Verne's nephew.

The animals can talk with humans, but only if they are kids, elderly, or insane. The most frequent human they have contact with is Clara, a toddler who goes to Perky Jerks Daycare Center.

The strip first appeared in 1995. Four book collections have been published. They are, in order, Over The Hedge, Over The Hedge 2, Knights Of The Picnic Table, and Stuffed Animals.

The strips are not afraid to tackle difficult subject matter. Everything from celebrity worship to stem cell research has appeared. In 1998, a series of strips had the characters considering the origin of humanity and the likelihood of reincarnation. The strips were awarded the Religious Communicators Council’s 1998 Wilbur Award for "excellence in the communication of religious issues, values and themes."

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*[http://www.overthehedgemovie.com/ Official site]
* [http://star-talk-live-interview-archive.blogspot.com/2006/05/interview-bruce-willis-wanda-sykes.html Interivews: Bruce Willis and Wanda Sykes]

==External links==
*[http://www.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/overthehedge/ Over the Hedge Trailers](Apple Quicktime) [http://www.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/overthehedge/hd/ (HD)]
{{wikipedia|Over the Hedge (film)}}

[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:Ursa Major Award winners]]
[[category:Raccoon characters|RJ]]
[[Category:Turtle characters|Verne]]

Over the Hedge (film)

2007-06-06T09:16:16Z

Madd the Sane: /* External links */

{{Cleanup}}
[[image:Over the hedge poster.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Over the Hedge poster]]
'''''Over The Hedge''''' is a [[Wikipedia:computer animation|computer-animated]] film based on the [[Wikipedia:United Media|United Media]] [[Wikipedia:Over the Hedge|comic strip of the same name]]. Directed by [[Wikipedia:Tim Johnson|Tim Johnson]] and [[Wikipedia:Karey Kirkpatrick|Karey Kirkpatrick]] and produced by [[Wikipedia:Bonnie Arnold|Bonnie Arnold]], it was released in the United States on May 19, 2006.

Produced by [[Wikipedia:DreamWorks Animation|DreamWorks Animation]] and distributed by [[Wikipedia:Paramount Pictures|Paramount Pictures]] (due to [[Wikipedia:Viacom|Viacom]]'s -- the parent of Paramount -- acquisition of its former parent company [[Wikipedia:DreamWorks|DreamWorks SKG]]), the film was rated [[Wikipedia:MPAA film rating system|PG]] by the [[Wikipedia:Motion Picture Association of America|MPAA]] for some rude humor and mild comic action. The movie was made in Redwood City, California

A soundtrack, "[[Wikipedia:Over the Hedge (Music from the Motion Picture)|Over the Hedge]]", featuring music by [[Wikipedia:Ben Folds|Ben Folds]], was released by [[Wikipedia:Epic Records|Epic Records]] and [[Wikipedia:Sony Music Soundtrack|Sony Music Soundtrack]].

''Over The Hedge'' won the [[Ursa Major Awards#2006|2006 Ursa Major Award]] for ''Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture''.

==Movie==
===Summary===
{{spoiler}}
RJ, the [[Raccoon|Raccoon]] (voiced by [[Wikipedia:Bruce Willis|Bruce Willis]]), after unsuccessfully trying to get a snack item from a [[Wikipedia:vending machine|vending machine]], ventures into the cave of the hibernating [[bear]] Vincent ([[Wikipedia:Nick Nolte|Nick Nolte]]). While attempting to steal Vincent's cache of goods, as well as his red wagon and blue cooler, RJ accidentally wakes Vincent, who after realizing what RJ is doing, attempts to scare him into giving his stuff back. RJ, in a panic, knocks the wagon of food into the street, it looks ok, and RJ and Vincent laugh about it, when it is run over by a truck and is destroyed. The furious Vincent gives RJ an ultimatum: replace everything within a week, or get eaten. RJ finds the new [[Wikipedia:suburbs|suburban]] development El Rancho Camelot Estates in western [[Wikipedia:Indiana|Indiana]] where he can steal all the replacement items he needs. There, a community of [[foraging|foragers]] led by the practical [[turtle]], Verne ([[Wikipedia:Garry Shandling|Garry Shandling]]), awakens from hibernation. He immediately directs his charges — Hammy (RJ during the film calls him "Hamilton") the cookie-addicted, hyperactive [[squirrel]] ([[Steve Carell]]); Stella the [[skunk]] with attitude ([[Wanda Sykes]]); Ozzie the [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearian]] [[opossum]] ([[William Shatner]]) and his 16-year-old frequently embarrassed daughter Heather ([[Avril Lavigne]]); and [[Minnesota]]-accented [[porcupine]]s Lou ([[Eugene Levy]]) and [[Canada|Canadian]]-accented Penny ([[Catherine O'Hara]]), and their young offspring Spike, Bucky, and Quillo — to start their yearly search for food to store. To their surprise and trepidation, they discover a [[hedge]]: which they call 'Steve' until RJ directs them otherwise. RJ, coming onto the scene, prompts them to scavenge for the food treasures he promises they'll find beyond it, while Verne fears for what traps or predators also await. Yet a determined and desperate RJ gets the woodland creatures to explore. Using a combination of con artistry and [[caper movie]] antics, they successfully snatch a wagon full of [[Girl Scout]]-like [[cookie]]s (which begins Hammy's addiction). Seeing this, the whole group except Verne joins in and begins to steal other foods from the neighborhood of overfed, [[SUV]]-driving humans, along with other items on the list RJ secretly keeps.

All this prompts the ire of home-owner association president Gladys Sharp ([[Allison Janney]]) , who hires a pest-control specialist Dwayne LaFontant, who calls himself The Verminator ([[Thomas Haden Church]]). Seeing this, and realizing that they might be in danger, Verne tries to return everything they've stolen as a bargain to the humans to spare their lives — leading to an action set-piece involving himself and RJ, a chasing, "play"-spouting dog, a wagon piled high with goods and goodies, and a canister of [[barbecue]] [[propane]], and a backyard [[slide]] that launches the wagon, Verne and RJ into the sky. The sequence ends with the two animals falling, unhurt, to earth, while the errant, ad hoc rocket crashes in a stylized, [[Wikipedia:mushroom-cloud|mushroom-cloud]] fireball. When RJ and Verne are rocketed back over the hedge, RJ and the other animals get mad at Verne. While trying to warn the others of RJ's plan to use them, Verne turns on RJ, and claims that him is making his friends do whatever he likes because they're "too stupid and naiive to know any better". Verne then tries to take back what he said, but the damage has already been done, and circumstances get worse as Verne tries to come up with a less hurtful description, and says ignorant. But no one is more hearbroken then Hammy, as Verne's hand was unintentionally pointing at ''him'' during his outburst. Hammy tearfully says "I'm not stupid", and takes the comment seriously with him being very hyperactive and somewhat childlike. Angry and hurt, Verne's friends leave him, and the turtle is all alone. Verne is then by himself, as he wonders what is truly best for his family and whether he belongs in it any more. But Verne isn't the only one with problems.

During his time with the foragers, RJ can't resist but having a growing affection for all of them. They're so kind, soft, and even give him a spot for himself so he wouldn't need to sleep on a tree. He slowly realizes that he shouldn't be using them for his own selfish needs, but should he blurt them out his secret and break their hearts?

RJ then goes to Verne, cools down and cheers him up. With RJ's help, Verne apologizes to his reluctant friends, and they welcome him back. Now, RJ stages the biggest heist yet, from the supplies of the big "welcome to the neighborhood" party Gladys plans for the following day. With Stella disguised as a cat, in order to distract the haughty guard-cat Tiger, the others raid her kitchen. They're almost in the clear when RJ. spies a can of Spuddies — Vincent's favorite food, and the last item on the list — and in trying to retrieve it, like at the beginning, keeps the rest of the crew in the house long enough for Gladys to spot them. The Verminator's traps catch all of the animals — all except RJ, who escapes with the wagon of Vincent's replacement goods. As the caged others are driven away, RJ meets Vincent in the woods, where the bear congratulates RJ on successfully "conning the suckers" and getting what he needed. He paints himself and RJ as two of a kind. Realizing the path to which his unchecked drifting will lead, RJ turns on Vincent, who didn't deserve all the food, and uses the piled-high wagon to crash into the Verminator's van, launching a rescue attempt. The enraged Vincent goes after RJ, determined to kill him. While being chased by the bear, the young porcupines direct the Verminator's van into the home of Gladys Sharp, much to her dislike. Vincent is donked by a hammer, pricked by Penny, and is finally sent flying with a balloon - a scene which is a parody to the ending of [[Alien (film)]]. All of the animals pull out of the van as the verminator regains consciousness.

Vincent lands on the animal's side of the hedge, where he begins to claw furiously to get RJ, while the verminator activates his electric wand and attempts to poke out the animals, determined to finish the job. Suddenly, the back door to Gladys' home swings open, and she emerges and clicks on the dreaded weed whacker and begins to swing furiously at the hedge, exclaiming "Show your ratty little faces! Stay in the woods where you belong?!" Trapped between Vincent and the humans, RJ and Verne quickly concoct a plan. They give a highly [[caffeine|caffeinated]] cola to the already [[adrenaline]]-rushing Hammy (notorious throughout the film for his ridiculously high levels of speed and uncontrolled energy), leading to a scene (reminiscent of others from U.S. [[TV]]'s ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'', Episode 70 of ''[[Futurama]]'' (''[[Three Hundred Big Boys]]'') and the [[DC Comics]] character [[The Flash]]) where his perceptions and motion are so sped up that the world appears to stand still, as if time has stopped. Hammy, strolling along but at super-speed with his power to travel through time itself, adjusts the trap controls (and collects one of his beloved cookies on the way). As he slows down back to normal speed (seen as the rest of the world gradually speeding up to him), RJ and Verne's plan succeeds, leading to Vincent getting trapped and set to be shipped to the [[Wikipedia:Rocky Mountains|Rockies]], Gladys fighting with the authorities and being arrested not only for the illegal man trap she arranged, but also for assaulting a police officer, and the Verminator tiptoeing away from the scene, only to be chased by the playful dog from before. RJ, now a hero to the other animals in deed as well as in word, settles down and agrees to be a father figure to the animal community. They in turn explain that if they had been truthfully told about RJ's predicament in the beginning, they would have helped him settle his debt, "...because that’s what families do", says Verne.

After the credits, the characters return to the vending machine RJ visited during the opening scene, now fully stocked. The entire vending machine is emptied in one shot to the delight of all, but the PUSH bar cannot be moved and no food can be retrieved. Hammy comments, "Kinda anti-climactic."
{{endspoiler}}

The animals are shown to survive, as they appear in "Hammy's Boomerang Adventure", a short film exclusively for the DVD.

===Voice cast===
* [[Bruce Willis]] - [[RJ]] the [[Raccoon]]
* [[Garry Shandling]] - [[Verne]] the [[Turtle]]
* [[Steve Carell]] - [[Hammy]] the [[Squirrel]]
* [[William Shatner]] - [[Ozzie]] the [[Opossum]]
* [[Avril Lavigne]] - [[Heather]], Ozzie's daughter
* [[Wanda Sykes]] - [[Stella]] the [[Skunk]]
* [[Nick Nolte]] - Vincent the [[Bear]]
* [[Allison Janney]] - Gladys Sharp
* [[Thomas Haden Church]] - Dwayne LaFontant, The Verminator
* [[Eugene Levy]] - Lou the [[Porcupine]]
* [[Catherine O'Hara]] - Penny, Lou's wife
* Sami Kirkpatrick - Bucky, one of Lou and Penny's kids
* Shane Baumel - Spike, one of Lou and Penny's kids
* Madison Davenport - Quillo, one of Lou and Penny's kids
* [[Brian Stepanek]] - Nugent the [[Dog]]
* [[Omid Djalili]] - Tiger the [[Persian (cat)|Persian]]
* Zoe Randol - Mackenzie
* [[Jessica Di Cicco]] - Shelby
* [[Debra Wilson]] - Debbie
* Sean Bishop - Police Officer
* Jeannie Elias - Janis
* Kejon Kesse - Timmy
* Paul Butcher - Skeeter
* [[Sean Yazbeck]] - BBQ Barry
* Geoffrey Pomeroy - Ranger
* Joel McCrary - Dr. Dennis
* [[Lee Bienstock]] - Lunch Table Larry
* Additional Voices by [[Steve Alterman]], [[Kirk Bailey]], [[Jessie Flower]], [[Nicholas Guest]], [[David Hiller]], [[Bridget Hoffman]], [[Sandy Holt]], [[Talula Holt]], [[Erin Lander]], [[Jordan Orr]], [[Michelle Ruff]], [[Greyson Spann]], [[Marcelo Tubert]], [[Ariel Winter]]

===Crew===
* Directed by [[Tim Johnson]] and [[Karey Kirkpatrick]]
* Produced by [[Bonnie Arnold]]
* Executive producer [[Bill Damaschke]]
* Screenplay by [[Len Blum]] and [[Lorne Cameron]] & [[David Hoselton]] and [[Karey Kirkpatrick]]
* Music by [[Rupert Gregson-Williams]]
* Songs by [[Ben Folds]]

===Reception===
The film's opening weekend grossed $38,457,003 in 4,093 theaters. As of July 19, 2006, the film had earned $239,307,057 worldwide.<ref>[http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=overthehedge.htm Box Office Mojo: ''Over the Hedge'']</ref>
Critical reaction was mostly positive with the film being rated 75% on the [[Rotten Tomatoes]] movie review aggregate site. Critic [[Frank Lovece]] of ''Film Journal International'' found that, "DreamWorks' slapstick animated adaptation of the philosophically satiric comic strip ... is a lot of laughs and boasts a much tighter story than most animated features"<ref>[http://filmjournal.com/filmjournal/reviews/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002539020 ''Film Journal Internationl'': ''Over the Hedge'' review by Frank Lovece]</ref> Ken Fox of ''[[TV Guide|TVGuide.com]]'' called it "a sly satire of American 'enough is never enough' consumerism and blind progress at the expense of the environment. It's also very funny, and the little woodland critters that make up the cast are a kiddie-pleasing bunch".<ref>[http://online.tvguide.com/newsearch/detail.aspx?id=46819&sourcetype=m&progseriesparentid=0&tvobjectid=0&keyword=&more=ucmoviereview TV Guide Online ''Over the Hedge'' review by Ken Fox]</ref> Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper of "Ebert & Roeper" gave the animated movie a "two thumbs up". <ref>[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060518/REVIEWS/60509002/1023 RogerEbert.com: ''Chicago Sun-Times'' (May 19, 2006): ''Over the Hedge'' review by Roger Ebert]</ref> <ref>[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/author-3822/?letter=o&cats=1%2C+2%2C+3%2C+4%2C+5%2C+7%2C+8%2C+29%2C+12%2C+13%2C+14%2C+16%2C+17%2C+18%2C+19%2C+20%2C+21%2C+22%2C+24%2C+23%2C+26%2C+27&genreid=&switches=# Rottentomatoes.com: Richard Roeper]</ref> [[Michael Medved]] gave ''Over the Hedge'' three stars (out of four) saying even though "..the P.C. messages that families come in all shapes and sizes is a bit gratuitous and heavy-handed..", overall he found the movie "..surprisingly satisfying..".<ref> [http://www.townhall.com/TalkRadio/Show.aspx?ContentGuid=bc60d434-3670-4284-973a-30fb02b1fffe&RadioShowId=4]</ref>
Jeffery Katzenberg is considering making a sequel to the movie, due to its success and the maker's love of the characters.

===Animals featured===
*[[Raccoon]] (RJ)
*[[Turtle|Box Turtle]] (Verne)
*[[European Red Squirrel]] (Hammy)
*[[Striped Skunk]] (Stella)
*[[North American Porcupine]] (Penny, Lou, Bucky, Quillo and Spike)
*[[Opossum|Virginia Opossum]] (Ozzie and Heather)
*[[Black Bear]] (Vincent)
*[[Firefly]] (Seen above RJ's head twice and once above Verne's head, resembling the [[lightbulb gag]] in cartoons)
*[[Bee]] (Used by Hammy to make [[honey]] on a piece of [[wood]], mentioned in the upcoming ''Bee Movie'', an animated film set for November 2007)
*[[Dragonfly]] (Seen caught in [[bug zapper]])
*[[Dog]] (Nugent)
*[[Cat]] (Tiger)
*[[Human]] (Gladys, Verminator, and various others)

===Trivia===
*Some retail chains offered different promotional items with purchase of the DVD. [[Target Corporation|Target]]: Bonus full length CD called "Rockin Rj's From Suburbia," [[Best Buy]]: Bonus book of the comic strips called "Stuffed Animals," [[Wal-Mart]]: Bonus DVD called "Hammy's Nutty-Fun DVD," [[K-Mart]]: Hammy Plush. [[Blockbuster Video]]: Included an exclusive metal tin for storing the DVD Case.
*The film is the first from DreamWorks Animation SKG to be based on a comic strip.
*[[Jim Carrey]] was originally announced to voice RJ.
*The movie was banned in [[People's Republic of China|China]], because of its "deception of free world". {{fact}}
*The film has certain similarities to the [[Isao Takahata]] movie ''[[Pom Poko]]''. ''Over the Hedge'' does not, however, develop the themes of environmentalism or anti-urbanization, and focuses on the animals' harmless preying on the bumbling humans, making the similarities between the two films contextual rather than substantive. As the critic for ''Film Journal International'' suggested (link under "References"), a closer comparison might be to [[Meredith Willson]]'s ''[[The Music Man]]'', which also centers on a slick con artist redeemed by his marks, and finding a surrogate family. The commentary track on the DVD confirms that the movie version of RJ (right down to his habit of carrying a bag) was partially inspired by Professor Harold Hill.
*During the scene where Ozzie plays dead, he spies a rose bush and mutters, "Rosebud". That is a reference to ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' in which Charles Foster Kane mutters a cryptic "Rosebud" before he passes away.
*Nugnet is actually not named in this film.
*When Verne the turtle is in his shell, he has a short, stubby tail. However, when out of his shell, he has human-style buttocks. This continuity flub is necessitated by two sight-gags involving buttocks, as well as dialogue referencing the tail.
*The logo of Dwayne LaFontaine, the Verminator's pest and vermin control company, featuring a man resembling himself hitting a rabbit with a hammer, is a spoof of a pest control company in [[California]], [[Nevada]], and [[Arizona]]; namely one Western Extermination Company, whose logo features a man named Kernel Kleenup with a top hat and suit about to squash a rat with his hammer.[http://www.west-ext.com/little_man.html]
*During the rolling end credits, the ''Over the Hedge'' comic strip can be seen three times - once, the porcupine kids are being taught to read with one; Hammy paints a portrait of RJ and Verne in the style of the strip, and finally, RJ shows three panels of a strip, and Vern, reluctantly, displays the final frame on his back. Also during the credits, Hammy references [[Khan Noonien Singh]]'s plot against [[James T. Kirk|Captain Kirk]] in ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'' (which was also distributed by Paramount Pictures and also stars [[William Shatner]], as Kirk).
*The child who plays one of the porcupine triplets, Bucky, is Sami Kirkpatrick, the son of Karey Kirkpatrick, one of the directors of the film.
*Both Eugene Levy (Lou) and Catherine O'Hara (Penny) were once regulars on ''[[Wikipedia:Second City Television|SCTV]]''.
*The infamous [[Wikipedia:THX|THX]] [[Wikipedia:Deep Note|Deep Note]] is used in a scene late in the film, and the famous "The usual, sir?" [[Wikipedia:Maxell|Maxell]] commercial is parodied as well. Also noted is that the movie itself is THX enhanced.
*In the scene where the animals are in the hedge and Dwayne is shooting his ray into the hedge, it is a parody of 2005's movie adaptation of ''[[Wikipedia:War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds]]'' (a Paramount/DreamWorks co-production) when the tripods are firing the heat-rays onto the street.
*In this film, Thomas Hayden Church plays an exterminator. In another animated summer release of 2006, ''[[Wikipedia:The Ant Bully|The Ant Bully]]'', [[Paul Giamatti]] plays an exterminator. Both actors had leading roles in the film ''[[Sideways]]''.
*Both ''[[Wikipedia:Hoodwinked|Hoodwinked]]'' and ''Over the Hedge'' feature a hyperactive squirrel who climatically drinks a caffeinated beverage to save the day.
*In the beginning of the movie the Hedge is called 'Steve' by Hammy during his first encounter of the Hedge. This is a direct take from the comic strip in which the character says the same thing and also [[Wikipedia:Steve Carrell|Steve Carrell]] is the actor that voices Hammy.



==Comic==

The Over The Hedge [[comic strip]] is the work of Michael Fry and T. Lewis. Fry is the writer, Lewis is the artist. They first worked together in 1992 on Mickey Mouse comic strips. Each has had success on their own, with Fry as a screenwriter and Lewis illustrating children's books. They live in separate parts of the United States, collaborating electronically on the strip.

The strip follows the lives of RJ, a [[raccoon]]; and Verne, a [[turtle]]. RJ has a sort of Zen spontaneity and Verne is a reserved worrywart that the strip hinted talks like Garry Shandling. He has a secret enjoyment of the music of John Tesh--RJ once baited him with his newest CD, "More Music To Eat Mayonnaise By". Most of the forest they live in has been stripped down to make a housing division called El Rancho Camelot. However, they, along with the other animals in the forest, aren't interested in retaking the land. They very much enjoy human culture. From raiding garbage cans for food and rating the preservatives used to staking out hot tubs, they recognize this isn't the best or healthiest way to live, but they can't give it up. RJ, in fact, has a near pathological addiction to Twinkies, such as his 1947 Twinkie that is "still soft" and "in mint condition". Sometimes, more extreme measures are employed, such as flyfishing steaks off a grill or distracting a family while other animals use a blowtorch to cut through a wall and get to the fridge.

In addition to RJ and Verne, the strip includes Hammy the squirrel. Hammy didn't appear when the strip first started. He was referenced in a series as being run over by a minivan, and he was buried in a pizza box. He started appearing and his name eventually became Sammy, but was changed back to Hammy after a while. Hammy is a edgy little guy who isn't completely aware of his surroundings, expressing shock when he discovered that thing he sort of knew was behind him was a tail (he was even more impressed when he discovered he had thumbs). He's not exactly a star of the strip, but he rounds out the central duo very well, despite how much he annoys Verne ("'Let's get a squirrel,' you said, 'The readers love squirrels'").

Other characters include Luby the raccoon and Velma the turtle, the sort of objects of RJ and Verne affections, even though they don't think very much of the "Boys In The Wood."

Another character who pops up occasionally is The Tree That Knows Stuff, a sentient tree that the characters seek information and advice from. He occasionally has to deal with RJ trying to muscle in on his job.

Another incidental character is Fred The Wood Tick, who appears as only a dot and has to be identified when he first appears with an arrow explaining what he is.

One character who was fairly prominent when the series first started was Plushie, Verne's nephew.

The animals can talk with humans, but only if they are kids, elderly, or insane. The most frequent human they have contact with is Clara, a toddler who goes to Perky Jerks Daycare Center.

The strip first appeared in 1995. Four book collections have been published. They are, in order, Over The Hedge, Over The Hedge 2, Knights Of The Picnic Table, and Stuffed Animals.

The strips are not afraid to tackle difficult subject matter. Everything from celebrity worship to stem cell research has appeared. In 1998, a series of strips had the characters considering the origin of humanity and the likelihood of reincarnation. The strips were awarded the Religious Communicators Council’s 1998 Wilbur Award for "excellence in the communication of religious issues, values and themes."

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*[http://www.overthehedgemovie.com/ Official site]
*{{imdb title|id=0327084|title=Over the Hedge}}
*{{rotten-tomatoes|id=over_the_hedge|title=Over the Hedge}}
* [http://star-talk-live-interview-archive.blogspot.com/2006/05/interview-bruce-willis-wanda-sykes.html Interivews: Bruce Willis and Wanda Sykes]

==External links==
*[http://www.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/overthehedge/ Over the Hedge Trailers](Apple Quicktime) [http://www.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/overthehedge/hd/ (HD)]
{{wikipedia|Over the Hedge (film)}}

[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:Ursa Major Award winners]]
[[category:Raccoon characters|RJ]]
[[Category:Turtle characters|Verne]]

Tales of the Questor

2007-06-06T09:12:04Z

Madd the Sane:

{{Infobox webcomic
| title = Tales of the Questor
| image = [[Image:Npcbutton.gif]]
| caption =
| author = [[Ralph Hayes, Jr.]]
| url = http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/Index.html
| status = Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
| began = November 2001
| ended = Ongoing
| genre = [[Fantasy]]
| rating = [[Image:Censor_PG_button.png]][[Category:Rated PG]]
}}
'''''Tales of the Questor''''' is a [[furry]] [[webcomic]] by [[Ralph Hayes, Jr.]], who is also the creator of ''[[Nip and Tuck]]'' and ''[[Goblin Hollow]]''.

[[Image:TotQ20051231-5.png|left|frame|Quentyn hesitates before returning home after the Tumbledowns fiasco]]
The comic tells the story of '''Quentyn''', a young 'Rac Conan Daimh' (a race of [[anthropomorphic]] [[raccoon]]s) who grows up as a farmer's son in the land of the Seven Villages, a place set in pseudo-medieval times. The Rac Conan Daimh wield a power called Lux which gives them magical abilities such as telekinesis. As a result of abusing this power and misunderstandings between them and the other races in their world, the Rac Conan Daimh have isolated themselves behind a wall of impenetrable mists and swamps. Quentyn has almost no Lux power himself, which leaves him in an awkward position in his community.

Enchanted by the stories he reads of the adventuresome Questors, and disenchanted by his own potentially dismal future, he aspires to live up to the heroism of the characters he idolizes. This is not immediately welcomed by his community, as they haven't needed anyone to fill the office of Questor for well over a century. However, he receives encouragement from a magical white stag who appears to him while he is contemplating his future. Armed with a malfunctioning magic sword - the result of drunkenly stumbling into a wizard's workshop one night - he goes off in search of his future.

Assisted by the wizard '''Rillcreek''' and his friend '''Kestrel''', he tries to figure out the nature of both his unpredictable weapon and his adventures.

==Plot synopsis==
Please see [[Tales of the Questor 2001-2004]] and [[Tales of the Questor 2005-2006]].

==Books==
The first two compilations of Questor comics are available to buyers on [[Wikipedia:Lulu.com|Lulu]]. Volume 1 is 223 pages long, and costs $41.99. It was awarded the 2005 [[Ursa Major Awards|Ursa Major Award]] for ''Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work''. Volume 2 is 170 pages long, priced at $39.99.

==External links==
*[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/Index.html Tales of the Questor website]
*[http://forums.keenspace.com/viewforum.php?forum=527 old Tales of the Questor forums]
*[http://www.rhjunior.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=5b162c89d2dd0151b191cff77ed6f0d6 new Tales of the Questor forums]
*[http://people.lulu.com/users/index.php?fHomepage=135246 Tales of the Questor, print editions]
*[http://newgrounds.com/portal/view/218174 "Tales of the Questors" Concept Compilation] by [[MalamiteLTD]]

[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:Ursa Major Award winners]]
[[Category:2001 births]]
[[Category:Raccoon characters|Quentyn]]
{{Wikipedia|Tales of the Questor}}

Over the Hedge (film)

2007-06-06T09:07:28Z

Madd the Sane: /* Comic */ mild cleanup

{{Cleanup}}
[[image:Over the hedge poster.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Over the Hedge poster]]
'''''Over The Hedge''''' is a [[Wikipedia:computer animation|computer-animated]] film based on the [[Wikipedia:United Media|United Media]] [[Wikipedia:Over the Hedge|comic strip of the same name]]. Directed by [[Wikipedia:Tim Johnson|Tim Johnson]] and [[Wikipedia:Karey Kirkpatrick|Karey Kirkpatrick]] and produced by [[Wikipedia:Bonnie Arnold|Bonnie Arnold]], it was released in the United States on May 19, 2006.

Produced by [[Wikipedia:DreamWorks Animation|DreamWorks Animation]] and distributed by [[Wikipedia:Paramount Pictures|Paramount Pictures]] (due to [[Wikipedia:Viacom|Viacom]]'s -- the parent of Paramount -- acquisition of its former parent company [[Wikipedia:DreamWorks|DreamWorks SKG]]), the film was rated [[Wikipedia:MPAA film rating system|PG]] by the [[Wikipedia:Motion Picture Association of America|MPAA]] for some rude humor and mild comic action. The movie was made in Redwood City, California

A soundtrack, "[[Wikipedia:Over the Hedge (Music from the Motion Picture)|Over the Hedge]]", featuring music by [[Wikipedia:Ben Folds|Ben Folds]], was released by [[Wikipedia:Epic Records|Epic Records]] and [[Wikipedia:Sony Music Soundtrack|Sony Music Soundtrack]].

''Over The Hedge'' won the [[Ursa Major Awards#2006|2006 Ursa Major Award]] for ''Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture''.

==Movie==
===Summary===
{{spoiler}}
RJ, the [[Raccoon|Raccoon]] (voiced by [[Wikipedia:Bruce Willis|Bruce Willis]]), after unsuccessfully trying to get a snack item from a [[Wikipedia:vending machine|vending machine]], ventures into the cave of the hibernating [[bear]] Vincent ([[Wikipedia:Nick Nolte|Nick Nolte]]). While attempting to steal Vincent's cache of goods, as well as his red wagon and blue cooler, RJ accidentally wakes Vincent, who after realizing what RJ is doing, attempts to scare him into giving his stuff back. RJ, in a panic, knocks the wagon of food into the street, it looks ok, and RJ and Vincent laugh about it, when it is run over by a truck and is destroyed. The furious Vincent gives RJ an ultimatum: replace everything within a week, or get eaten. RJ finds the new [[Wikipedia:suburbs|suburban]] development El Rancho Camelot Estates in western [[Wikipedia:Indiana|Indiana]] where he can steal all the replacement items he needs. There, a community of [[foraging|foragers]] led by the practical [[turtle]], Verne ([[Wikipedia:Garry Shandling|Garry Shandling]]), awakens from hibernation. He immediately directs his charges — Hammy (RJ during the film calls him "Hamilton") the cookie-addicted, hyperactive [[squirrel]] ([[Steve Carell]]); Stella the [[skunk]] with attitude ([[Wanda Sykes]]); Ozzie the [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearian]] [[opossum]] ([[William Shatner]]) and his 16-year-old frequently embarrassed daughter Heather ([[Avril Lavigne]]); and [[Minnesota]]-accented [[porcupine]]s Lou ([[Eugene Levy]]) and [[Canada|Canadian]]-accented Penny ([[Catherine O'Hara]]), and their young offspring Spike, Bucky, and Quillo — to start their yearly search for food to store. To their surprise and trepidation, they discover a [[hedge]]: which they call 'Steve' until RJ directs them otherwise. RJ, coming onto the scene, prompts them to scavenge for the food treasures he promises they'll find beyond it, while Verne fears for what traps or predators also await. Yet a determined and desperate RJ gets the woodland creatures to explore. Using a combination of con artistry and [[caper movie]] antics, they successfully snatch a wagon full of [[Girl Scout]]-like [[cookie]]s (which begins Hammy's addiction). Seeing this, the whole group except Verne joins in and begins to steal other foods from the neighborhood of overfed, [[SUV]]-driving humans, along with other items on the list RJ secretly keeps.

All this prompts the ire of home-owner association president Gladys Sharp ([[Allison Janney]]) , who hires a pest-control specialist Dwayne LaFontant, who calls himself The Verminator ([[Thomas Haden Church]]). Seeing this, and realizing that they might be in danger, Verne tries to return everything they've stolen as a bargain to the humans to spare their lives — leading to an action set-piece involving himself and RJ, a chasing, "play"-spouting dog, a wagon piled high with goods and goodies, and a canister of [[barbecue]] [[propane]], and a backyard [[slide]] that launches the wagon, Verne and RJ into the sky. The sequence ends with the two animals falling, unhurt, to earth, while the errant, ad hoc rocket crashes in a stylized, [[Wikipedia:mushroom-cloud|mushroom-cloud]] fireball. When RJ and Verne are rocketed back over the hedge, RJ and the other animals get mad at Verne. While trying to warn the others of RJ's plan to use them, Verne turns on RJ, and claims that him is making his friends do whatever he likes because they're "too stupid and naiive to know any better". Verne then tries to take back what he said, but the damage has already been done, and circumstances get worse as Verne tries to come up with a less hurtful description, and says ignorant. But no one is more hearbroken then Hammy, as Verne's hand was unintentionally pointing at ''him'' during his outburst. Hammy tearfully says "I'm not stupid", and takes the comment seriously with him being very hyperactive and somewhat childlike. Angry and hurt, Verne's friends leave him, and the turtle is all alone. Verne is then by himself, as he wonders what is truly best for his family and whether he belongs in it any more. But Verne isn't the only one with problems.

During his time with the foragers, RJ can't resist but having a growing affection for all of them. They're so kind, soft, and even give him a spot for himself so he wouldn't need to sleep on a tree. He slowly realizes that he shouldn't be using them for his own selfish needs, but should he blurt them out his secret and break their hearts?

RJ then goes to Verne, cools down and cheers him up. With RJ's help, Verne apologizes to his reluctant friends, and they welcome him back. Now, RJ stages the biggest heist yet, from the supplies of the big "welcome to the neighborhood" party Gladys plans for the following day. With Stella disguised as a cat, in order to distract the haughty guard-cat Tiger, the others raid her kitchen. They're almost in the clear when RJ. spies a can of Spuddies — Vincent's favorite food, and the last item on the list — and in trying to retrieve it, like at the beginning, keeps the rest of the crew in the house long enough for Gladys to spot them. The Verminator's traps catch all of the animals — all except RJ, who escapes with the wagon of Vincent's replacement goods. As the caged others are driven away, RJ meets Vincent in the woods, where the bear congratulates RJ on successfully "conning the suckers" and getting what he needed. He paints himself and RJ as two of a kind. Realizing the path to which his unchecked drifting will lead, RJ turns on Vincent, who didn't deserve all the food, and uses the piled-high wagon to crash into the Verminator's van, launching a rescue attempt. The enraged Vincent goes after RJ, determined to kill him. While being chased by the bear, the young porcupines direct the Verminator's van into the home of Gladys Sharp, much to her dislike. Vincent is donked by a hammer, pricked by Penny, and is finally sent flying with a balloon - a scene which is a parody to the ending of [[Alien (film)]]. All of the animals pull out of the van as the verminator regains consciousness.

Vincent lands on the animal's side of the hedge, where he begins to claw furiously to get RJ, while the verminator activates his electric wand and attempts to poke out the animals, determined to finish the job. Suddenly, the back door to Gladys' home swings open, and she emerges and clicks on the dreaded weed whacker and begins to swing furiously at the hedge, exclaiming "Show your ratty little faces! Stay in the woods where you belong?!" Trapped between Vincent and the humans, RJ and Verne quickly concoct a plan. They give a highly [[caffeine|caffeinated]] cola to the already [[adrenaline]]-rushing Hammy (notorious throughout the film for his ridiculously high levels of speed and uncontrolled energy), leading to a scene (reminiscent of others from U.S. [[TV]]'s ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'', Episode 70 of ''[[Futurama]]'' (''[[Three Hundred Big Boys]]'') and the [[DC Comics]] character [[The Flash]]) where his perceptions and motion are so sped up that the world appears to stand still, as if time has stopped. Hammy, strolling along but at super-speed with his power to travel through time itself, adjusts the trap controls (and collects one of his beloved cookies on the way). As he slows down back to normal speed (seen as the rest of the world gradually speeding up to him), RJ and Verne's plan succeeds, leading to Vincent getting trapped and set to be shipped to the [[Wikipedia:Rocky Mountains|Rockies]], Gladys fighting with the authorities and being arrested not only for the illegal man trap she arranged, but also for assaulting a police officer, and the Verminator tiptoeing away from the scene, only to be chased by the playful dog from before. RJ, now a hero to the other animals in deed as well as in word, settles down and agrees to be a father figure to the animal community. They in turn explain that if they had been truthfully told about RJ's predicament in the beginning, they would have helped him settle his debt, "...because that’s what families do", says Verne.

After the credits, the characters return to the vending machine RJ visited during the opening scene, now fully stocked. The entire vending machine is emptied in one shot to the delight of all, but the PUSH bar cannot be moved and no food can be retrieved. Hammy comments, "Kinda anti-climactic."
{{endspoiler}}

The animals are shown to survive, as they appear in "Hammy's Boomerang Adventure", a short film exclusively for the DVD.

===Voice cast===
* [[Bruce Willis]] - [[RJ]] the [[Raccoon]]
* [[Garry Shandling]] - [[Verne]] the [[Turtle]]
* [[Steve Carell]] - [[Hammy]] the [[Squirrel]]
* [[William Shatner]] - [[Ozzie]] the [[Opossum]]
* [[Avril Lavigne]] - [[Heather]], Ozzie's daughter
* [[Wanda Sykes]] - [[Stella]] the [[Skunk]]
* [[Nick Nolte]] - Vincent the [[Bear]]
* [[Allison Janney]] - Gladys Sharp
* [[Thomas Haden Church]] - Dwayne LaFontant, The Verminator
* [[Eugene Levy]] - Lou the [[Porcupine]]
* [[Catherine O'Hara]] - Penny, Lou's wife
* Sami Kirkpatrick - Bucky, one of Lou and Penny's kids
* Shane Baumel - Spike, one of Lou and Penny's kids
* Madison Davenport - Quillo, one of Lou and Penny's kids
* [[Brian Stepanek]] - Nugent the [[Dog]]
* [[Omid Djalili]] - Tiger the [[Persian (cat)|Persian]]
* Zoe Randol - Mackenzie
* [[Jessica Di Cicco]] - Shelby
* [[Debra Wilson]] - Debbie
* Sean Bishop - Police Officer
* Jeannie Elias - Janis
* Kejon Kesse - Timmy
* Paul Butcher - Skeeter
* [[Sean Yazbeck]] - BBQ Barry
* Geoffrey Pomeroy - Ranger
* Joel McCrary - Dr. Dennis
* [[Lee Bienstock]] - Lunch Table Larry
* Additional Voices by [[Steve Alterman]], [[Kirk Bailey]], [[Jessie Flower]], [[Nicholas Guest]], [[David Hiller]], [[Bridget Hoffman]], [[Sandy Holt]], [[Talula Holt]], [[Erin Lander]], [[Jordan Orr]], [[Michelle Ruff]], [[Greyson Spann]], [[Marcelo Tubert]], [[Ariel Winter]]

===Crew===
* Directed by [[Tim Johnson]] and [[Karey Kirkpatrick]]
* Produced by [[Bonnie Arnold]]
* Executive producer [[Bill Damaschke]]
* Screenplay by [[Len Blum]] and [[Lorne Cameron]] & [[David Hoselton]] and [[Karey Kirkpatrick]]
* Music by [[Rupert Gregson-Williams]]
* Songs by [[Ben Folds]]

===Reception===
The film's opening weekend grossed $38,457,003 in 4,093 theaters. As of July 19, 2006, the film had earned $239,307,057 worldwide.<ref>[http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=overthehedge.htm Box Office Mojo: ''Over the Hedge'']</ref>
Critical reaction was mostly positive with the film being rated 75% on the [[Rotten Tomatoes]] movie review aggregate site. Critic [[Frank Lovece]] of ''Film Journal International'' found that, "DreamWorks' slapstick animated adaptation of the philosophically satiric comic strip ... is a lot of laughs and boasts a much tighter story than most animated features"<ref>[http://filmjournal.com/filmjournal/reviews/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002539020 ''Film Journal Internationl'': ''Over the Hedge'' review by Frank Lovece]</ref> Ken Fox of ''[[TV Guide|TVGuide.com]]'' called it "a sly satire of American 'enough is never enough' consumerism and blind progress at the expense of the environment. It's also very funny, and the little woodland critters that make up the cast are a kiddie-pleasing bunch".<ref>[http://online.tvguide.com/newsearch/detail.aspx?id=46819&sourcetype=m&progseriesparentid=0&tvobjectid=0&keyword=&more=ucmoviereview TV Guide Online ''Over the Hedge'' review by Ken Fox]</ref> Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper of "Ebert & Roeper" gave the animated movie a "two thumbs up". <ref>[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060518/REVIEWS/60509002/1023 RogerEbert.com: ''Chicago Sun-Times'' (May 19, 2006): ''Over the Hedge'' review by Roger Ebert]</ref> <ref>[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/author-3822/?letter=o&cats=1%2C+2%2C+3%2C+4%2C+5%2C+7%2C+8%2C+29%2C+12%2C+13%2C+14%2C+16%2C+17%2C+18%2C+19%2C+20%2C+21%2C+22%2C+24%2C+23%2C+26%2C+27&genreid=&switches=# Rottentomatoes.com: Richard Roeper]</ref> [[Michael Medved]] gave ''Over the Hedge'' three stars (out of four) saying even though "..the P.C. messages that families come in all shapes and sizes is a bit gratuitous and heavy-handed..", overall he found the movie "..surprisingly satisfying..".<ref> [http://www.townhall.com/TalkRadio/Show.aspx?ContentGuid=bc60d434-3670-4284-973a-30fb02b1fffe&RadioShowId=4]</ref>
Jeffery Katzenberg is considering making a sequel to the movie, due to its success and the maker's love of the characters.

===Animals featured===
*[[Raccoon]] (RJ)
*[[Turtle|Box Turtle]] (Verne)
*[[European Red Squirrel]] (Hammy)
*[[Striped Skunk]] (Stella)
*[[North American Porcupine]] (Penny, Lou, Bucky, Quillo and Spike)
*[[Opossum|Virginia Opossum]] (Ozzie and Heather)
*[[Black Bear]] (Vincent)
*[[Firefly]] (Seen above RJ's head twice and once above Verne's head, resembling the [[lightbulb gag]] in cartoons)
*[[Bee]] (Used by Hammy to make [[honey]] on a piece of [[wood]], mentioned in the upcoming ''Bee Movie'', an animated film set for November 2007)
*[[Dragonfly]] (Seen caught in [[bug zapper]])
*[[Dog]] (Nugent)
*[[Cat]] (Tiger)
*[[Human]] (Gladys, Verminator, and various others)

===Trivia===
*Some retail chains offered different promotional items with purchase of the DVD. [[Target Corporation|Target]]: Bonus full length CD called "Rockin Rj's From Suburbia," [[Best Buy]]: Bonus book of the comic strips called "Stuffed Animals," [[Wal-Mart]]: Bonus DVD called "Hammy's Nutty-Fun DVD," [[K-Mart]]: Hammy Plush. [[Blockbuster Video]]: Included an exclusive metal tin for storing the DVD Case.
*The film is the first from DreamWorks Animation SKG to be based on a comic strip.
*[[Jim Carrey]] was originally announced to voice RJ.
*The movie was banned in [[People's Republic of China|China]], because of its "deception of free world". {{fact}}
*The film has certain similarities to the [[Isao Takahata]] movie ''[[Pom Poko]]''. ''Over the Hedge'' does not, however, develop the themes of environmentalism or anti-urbanization, and focuses on the animals' harmless preying on the bumbling humans, making the similarities between the two films contextual rather than substantive. As the critic for ''Film Journal International'' suggested (link under "References"), a closer comparison might be to [[Meredith Willson]]'s ''[[The Music Man]]'', which also centers on a slick con artist redeemed by his marks, and finding a surrogate family. The commentary track on the DVD confirms that the movie version of RJ (right down to his habit of carrying a bag) was partially inspired by Professor Harold Hill.
*During the scene where Ozzie plays dead, he spies a rose bush and mutters, "Rosebud". That is a reference to ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' in which Charles Foster Kane mutters a cryptic "Rosebud" before he passes away.
*Nugnet is actually not named in this film.
*When Verne the turtle is in his shell, he has a short, stubby tail. However, when out of his shell, he has human-style buttocks. This continuity flub is necessitated by two sight-gags involving buttocks, as well as dialogue referencing the tail.
*The logo of Dwayne LaFontaine, the Verminator's pest and vermin control company, featuring a man resembling himself hitting a rabbit with a hammer, is a spoof of a pest control company in [[California]], [[Nevada]], and [[Arizona]]; namely one Western Extermination Company, whose logo features a man named Kernel Kleenup with a top hat and suit about to squash a rat with his hammer.[http://www.west-ext.com/little_man.html]
*During the rolling end credits, the ''Over the Hedge'' comic strip can be seen three times - once, the porcupine kids are being taught to read with one; Hammy paints a portrait of RJ and Verne in the style of the strip, and finally, RJ shows three panels of a strip, and Vern, reluctantly, displays the final frame on his back. Also during the credits, Hammy references [[Khan Noonien Singh]]'s plot against [[James T. Kirk|Captain Kirk]] in ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'' (which was also distributed by Paramount Pictures and also stars [[William Shatner]], as Kirk).
*The child who plays one of the porcupine triplets, Bucky, is Sami Kirkpatrick, the son of Karey Kirkpatrick, one of the directors of the film.
*Both Eugene Levy (Lou) and Catherine O'Hara (Penny) were once regulars on ''[[Wikipedia:Second City Television|SCTV]]''.
*The infamous [[Wikipedia:THX|THX]] [[Wikipedia:Deep Note|Deep Note]] is used in a scene late in the film, and the famous "The usual, sir?" [[Wikipedia:Maxell|Maxell]] commercial is parodied as well. Also noted is that the movie itself is THX enhanced.
*In the scene where the animals are in the hedge and Dwayne is shooting his ray into the hedge, it is a parody of 2005's movie adaptation of ''[[Wikipedia:War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds]]'' (a Paramount/DreamWorks co-production) when the tripods are firing the heat-rays onto the street.
*In this film, Thomas Hayden Church plays an exterminator. In another animated summer release of 2006, ''[[Wikipedia:The Ant Bully|The Ant Bully]]'', [[Paul Giamatti]] plays an exterminator. Both actors had leading roles in the film ''[[Sideways]]''.
*Both ''[[Wikipedia:Hoodwinked|Hoodwinked]]'' and ''Over the Hedge'' feature a hyperactive squirrel who climatically drinks a caffeinated beverage to save the day.
*In the beginning of the movie the Hedge is called 'Steve' by Hammy during his first encounter of the Hedge. This is a direct take from the comic strip in which the character says the same thing and also [[Wikipedia:Steve Carrell|Steve Carrell]] is the actor that voices Hammy.



==Comic==

The Over The Hedge [[comic strip]] is the work of Michael Fry and T. Lewis. Fry is the writer, Lewis is the artist. They first worked together in 1992 on Mickey Mouse comic strips. Each has had success on their own, with Fry as a screenwriter and Lewis illustrating children's books. They live in separate parts of the United States, collaborating electronically on the strip.

The strip follows the lives of RJ, a [[raccoon]]; and Verne, a [[turtle]]. RJ has a sort of Zen spontaneity and Verne is a reserved worrywart that the strip hinted talks like Garry Shandling. He has a secret enjoyment of the music of John Tesh--RJ once baited him with his newest CD, "More Music To Eat Mayonnaise By". Most of the forest they live in has been stripped down to make a housing division called El Rancho Camelot. However, they, along with the other animals in the forest, aren't interested in retaking the land. They very much enjoy human culture. From raiding garbage cans for food and rating the preservatives used to staking out hot tubs, they recognize this isn't the best or healthiest way to live, but they can't give it up. RJ, in fact, has a near pathological addiction to Twinkies, such as his 1947 Twinkie that is "still soft" and "in mint condition". Sometimes, more extreme measures are employed, such as flyfishing steaks off a grill or distracting a family while other animals use a blowtorch to cut through a wall and get to the fridge.

In addition to RJ and Verne, the strip includes Hammy the squirrel. Hammy didn't appear when the strip first started. He was referenced in a series as being run over by a minivan, and he was buried in a pizza box. He started appearing and his name eventually became Sammy, but was changed back to Hammy after a while. Hammy is a edgy little guy who isn't completely aware of his surroundings, expressing shock when he discovered that thing he sort of knew was behind him was a tail (he was even more impressed when he discovered he had thumbs). He's not exactly a star of the strip, but he rounds out the central duo very well, despite how much he annoys Verne ("'Let's get a squirrel,' you said, 'The readers love squirrels'").

Other characters include Luby the raccoon and Velma the turtle, the sort of objects of RJ and Verne affections, even though they don't think very much of the "Boys In The Wood."

Another character who pops up occasionally is The Tree That Knows Stuff, a sentient tree that the characters seek information and advice from. He occasionally has to deal with RJ trying to muscle in on his job.

Another incidental character is Fred The Wood Tick, who appears as only a dot and has to be identified when he first appears with an arrow explaining what he is.

One character who was fairly prominent when the series first started was Plushie, Verne's nephew.

The animals can talk with humans, but only if they are kids, elderly, or insane. The most frequent human they have contact with is Clara, a toddler who goes to Perky Jerks Daycare Center.

The strip first appeared in 1995. Four book collections have been published. They are, in order, Over The Hedge, Over The Hedge 2, Knights Of The Picnic Table, and Stuffed Animals.

The strips are not afraid to tackle difficult subject matter. Everything from celebrity worship to stem cell research has appeared. In 1998, a series of strips had the characters considering the origin of humanity and the likelihood of reincarnation. The strips were awarded the Religious Communicators Council’s 1998 Wilbur Award for "excellence in the communication of religious issues, values and themes."

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*[http://www.overthehedgemovie.com/ Official site]
*{{imdb title|id=0327084|title=Over the Hedge}}
*{{rotten-tomatoes|id=over_the_hedge|title=Over the Hedge}}
* [http://star-talk-live-interview-archive.blogspot.com/2006/05/interview-bruce-willis-wanda-sykes.html Interivews: Bruce Willis and Wanda Sykes]

==External links==
*[http://www.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/overthehedge/ Over the Hedge Trailers](Apple Quicktime) [http://www.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/overthehedge/hd/ (HD)]
{{wikipedia|Over the Hedge (film)}}

[[Category:Movies]][[Category:Ursa Major Award winners]]

The Whiteboard

2007-06-06T08:21:34Z

Madd the Sane: more complete rip from Wikipedia and meshing with previous article

{{Infobox webcomic 
| title = The Whiteboard

| author = Doc Nickel
| url = http://www.the-whiteboard.com/
| rss =
| atom =
| status = Updates Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
| began = July 18, 2002
| ended =
| genre =
| ratings =
| preceded by =
| followed by =
}}

'''The Whiteboard''' is a [[wikipedia:paintball|paintball]] [[webcomic]] created by "Doc" Nickel, an [[wikipedia:Alaska|Alaskan]] [[wikipedia:airsmith|airsmith]]. It has been collected into two print books to date; "''The Whiteboard: Digitally Remastered''" (2005) [ISBN: 1-59971-219-9] and "''The Whiteboard: Untapped Potential''" (2006). A special full-page color ''The Whiteboard'' was also featured in [http://p8ntballer.com/''Paintball Games International''] magazines' special "What Paintball Gear?" issue in 2003<ref name=WhatPBGear>Paintball Games International's "What Paintball Gear" Annual 2003, pg. 194</ref>. In 2004, the Russian magazine [http://www.paintball.ru/ ''пейнтбол''] (Paintball) printed<ref name=rPaintball>"''пейнтбол''" Summer 2004 issue, pg. 48</ref> several translated versions of early TWB strips.

It centers around Doc, an [[anthro]] [[polar bear]] who runs Doc's Shop, a paintball supply and repair shop where he often tinkers with the laws of physics. He and his friends, a group of various anthros, are often playing paintball. Humans are present, typically only as bystanders and other paintball players. Usually the humans are depicted as being either inept, new to the game (newbies), or general canon fodder.

The first strip was created on July 18, 2002, using a dry-erase board: <blockquote>''I'd just installed the board in the shop, and on a whim I scribbled up this comic, snapped a pic and posted it in the forum. The forum regulars liked it, so I drew a couple more and posted those as well.'' -Doc Nickel</blockquote>

The difficulty in photographing the shiny whiteboard surface, and the limitations of the single-panel format led to the change to a more conventional pen-and-ink three panel layout. The strip was originally based on personal anecdotes collected while running a paintball shop, but it has evolved into a comic with many unique characters and storylines receiving 168,000<ref name=WebStats>TWB eXTReMe Tracking Site. http://extremetracking.com/open?login=thetwb</ref> unique visitors a month.

<blockquote>''TWB was never intended to be a [[furry]] strip. Besides the fact it wasn't intended to be a regular feature in the first place, [[polar bear]] was chosen simply as a clearly-Alaskan icon, and as a stereotypically bad-tempered, grumpy sort. I mean, would you want to tell a grumpy bear that you broke your [[wikipedia:Paintball marker|marker]] and need it fixed by Friday? When I started thinking about a regular-feature strip, I started planning the usual fish out of water gags; customers surprised at a bear working the counter, calling Fish & Game who would come and tranquilize him and try to transplant him back to the arctic, yadda yadda. I thought those jokes were too clichéd, however, and wanted to focus on the shop/customer jokes, which is why I drew the original comic in the first place.'' -Doc Nickel</blockquote>

==Characters==

*'''Doc''' is a [[Polar Bear]] (''Ursus Maritimus''). Originally intended as an [[avatar]] of the author, Doc has evolved into a unique character. As such, he's the boss. The big bruin. The head honcho. King of the ice floe. Owns and operates an as-yet unnamed paintball store, basically just as a dodge to get to play with wild toys and build cool gadgets. Has an affinity for [[wikipedia:Mountain Dew|Mountain Dew]], big wooden mallets and [[wikipedia:Autococker|Autocockers]]. Can hear a leaky 4-way or maladjusted ram snap-ring at forty meters, and carries around [[wikipedia:Milling machine|vertical mills]] like other people carry a [[wikipedia:Leatherman|Leatherman]].
*'''Roger''' is a [[Raccoon]] (''Procyon Lotor''). He's a computer [[wikipedia:geek|geek]], [[wikipedia:programmer|programmer]], and electronic transmogrifier. Often the voice of reason when new projects are contemplated, but occasionally the one wondering aloud where they can get some [[wikipedia:Thorium|Thorium]] and a couple particle accelerators. Has been known to troubleshoot [[wikipedia:Electropneumatic paintball gun|electropneumatic]] software over the phone, on the field, and under fire.
*'''Swamp Fox (Swampy)''' is a subspecies of [[Red Fox]] local to the [[wikipedia:Kenai Peninsula|Kenai Peninsula]] (''Vulpes vulpes kenaiensis''). He's your typical laid-back rec player. Swampy is good but not great, and thinks an [[wikipedia:automag (paintball marker)|automag]] is plenty "high tech" for him. A regular hangout at the shop and frequent bystander when a new gadget gets tested, he's usually the first one to call the fire department. Doesn't mind helping sweep up the debris.
*'''Bandit''' is a [[Ferret]] (''Mustela furo''). Skinny and fast, he's out on the field just for fun. Plays pump and [[wikipedia:Stock paintball|stock]], even in tournaments, and can't understand why somebody might need five 9-volts and a thousand [[wikipedia:paintball|paintballs]] for a single game. Can hide behind small twigs and uses [[wikipedia:Sup'Air|Sup'Air]] inflation tubes like other players use the "snake". Owns only one [[wikipedia:Paintball marker|marker]], and knows how to use it.
*'''Snowshoe (Shoey or Shoe)''' is a [[Lynx|Canadian Lynx]] (''Lynx canadensis''). More of a tourney player, Shoe prefers the fast-paced, paint-flyin' games. He's usually got the newest marker he can afford, but often has to be dissuaded from buying the latest overhyped gadget or trading the old one in 'cause new ones are ''nickeled''. Between game days, he can usually be found at the Shop watching paintball videos or flipping through the latest fliers and catalogs.
*'''Jinx''' is an [[Arctic Fox]] (''Alopex lagopus''). Jimmy's the new kid in town, and new to the sport as well. Strangely enough, not everyone thinks that exposure to the regular Crew is necessarily a 'bad' thing. That remains to be seen.
*'''Rainman (Daniel, never Bunny)''' is a [[hare|Snowshoe Hare]] (''Lepus americanus''). Semiserious tourney wannabe, though he spends more time practicing his 'trash talk' than his snapshots. A decent player, but worries more about appearing a professional player than actually being a pro. Yes, he knows he has a famous profile.
*'''Red''' is a subspecies of [[Red Fox]] local to [[wikipedia:Alaska|Alaska]] and northern [[wikipedia:Canada|Canada]] (''Vulpes vulpes alascensis''). He owns the local [[wikipedia:Paintball|Paintball]] Field, and runs it with the help of the Crew and various volunteers. Genuinely wants the customers to have fun, but won't put up with kids who want to "bend" the rules or can't learn to play safely.
*'''Jake''' is a [[Skunk|Striped Skunk]] (''Mephitis mephitis''). He's laid back and easygoing… at least 'til he gets on the field, where he's confident and aggressive. Few players will risk bunkering him after seeing what happened when Bandit got the drop on him during a [[wikipedia:woodsball|woodsball]] game.
*'''Bruno''' is a [[Bear|Brown Bear]] (''Ursus arctos''). Bruno's a bit older than the usual crowd, a little slower and not able to tuck or hide quite as well… But he makes it up in spades by being a devious, methodical and downright sneaky player. A fan of old pumps, he sometimes uses a semiauto just so he's not quite as sore in the morning.
*'''Sandy''' is a [[Red Fox]] (''Vulpes vulpes''). She's the new office girl. Starting out as an accidental hire after a party, she managed to put Doc's paperwork in some semblance of order, which came as a surprise to everyone since even disaster-recovery specialists said that would require heavy machinery, [[wikipedia:high explosives|high explosives]] and [[wikipedia:United Nations|UN]] approval. Knew absolutely nothing about the sport when she first arrived, but she's learning.
*'''Tawny''' is a [[Bobcat]] (''Lynx rufus''). She's Snowshoe's girlfriend. Shoey won't admit it, but if she wasn't keeping his gear cleaned and fixed, he'd never make it to the starting gate in time. He also won't admit she's a better player, and she'll let him win.
*'''Pirta (PJ)''' is a [[Snow leopard]] (''Uncia uncia''). She's a waitress at the Chinese-takeout place down the street. Pirta only knew of the shop antics from what the [[wikipedia:Emergency medical technician|EMT]]s and firemen told her when they'd come in after another call. That is, until she found out an old friend worked there…

==Making Of==
The author has a humorous look at how a typical strip is created [http://www.the-whiteboard.com/misc/af04.html on his site]

==Cameos==
Characters from and references to The Whiteboard have been featured in the following strips by other authors:
*[http://www.inktank.com/WW/index.cfm?nav=124 ''November 2, 2004''] in Weak-End Warriors.
*[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1100/fv01060.htm ''Jan 17, 2005''] in Freefall.
*[http://www.registeronecomic.com/index.php?comic=2005-04-22 ''April 22, 2005''] in Register One.
*[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20051020.html ''October 20, 2005''] in Schlock Mercenary.
*[http://www.drunkduck.com/The_KAMics/index.php?p=84254 ''September 4, 2006''] in The KAMics.
*[http://www.revolvercomic.com/view.php?date=2006-10-15 ''October 15, 2006''] in RevolverComic (spanish).

''The Whiteboard'' has itself done cameos of characters from over a hundred other webcomics, usually during the yearly Halloween parties.

==Critical Reaction==
Howard Tayler, author of Schlock Mercenary, wrote of [[The Whiteboard]]: "If you’re not already reading [[The Whiteboard]] as part of your daily trawl, I hope it’s not because you think the comic is only funny to paintballers. I’ve only paintballed once (an experience I found miserable) and the comic is one of my favorites."<ref name=Schlock>Tayler, Howard (August 16, 2006). "This run of The Whiteboard needs your attention". http://www.schlockmercenary.com/blog/index.php/2006/08/16/this-run-of-the-whiteboard-needs-your-attention/</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.the-whiteboard.com/ ''The Whiteboard'']
*[http://www.docsmachine.com/ ''Doc's Machine'']
*[http://www.docsmachine.com/tees/ ''TWB Print Books'']
*[[wikipedia:The Whiteboard|''Wikipedia Article'']]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whiteboard, The}}
[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:Alaska]]
{{Wikipedia|The Whiteboard}}

Talk:The Whiteboard

2007-05-20T05:30:53Z

Madd the Sane: oops, forgot to sign!

This page should include info on the characters and their pictures, as can be found in the "cast" section of the site. I am, however, too lazy to do this myself, lol. {{unsigned|216.224.121.141}}

== added Wikipedia character Info ==

I have added the Character info from the Wikipedia article with the same name. If you think you could improve the article at all, please do. It looks a little sparse. [[User:Madd the Sane|Madd the Sane]] 05:30, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Talk:The Whiteboard

2007-05-20T05:29:44Z

Madd the Sane: added Wikipedia character Info

The Whiteboard

2007-05-20T04:50:43Z

Madd the Sane: Added WP link and Character info

'''''The Whiteboard''''' is a [[webcomic]], mostly about paintball, set in Alaska. It is written and drawn by [[Doc Nickel]].

It centers around Doc, an anthro polar bear who runs Doc's Shop, a paintball supply and repair shop where he often tinkers with the laws of physics. He and his friends, a group of various anthros, are often playing paintball. Humans are present, typically only as bystanders and other paintball players.
==Cast==

*'''Doc''' is a [[Polar Bear]] (''Ursus Maritimus''). Originally intended as an [[avatar]] of the author, Doc has evolved into a unique character. As such, he's the boss. The big bruin. The head honcho. King of the ice floe. Owns and operates an as-yet unnamed paintball store, basically just as a dodge to get to play with wild toys and build cool gadgets. Has an affinity for [[wikipedia:Mountain Dew|Mountain Dew]], big wooden mallets and [[wikipedia:Autococker|Autocockers]]. Can hear a leaky 4-way or maladjusted ram snap-ring at forty meters, and carries around [[wikipedia:Milling machine|vertical mills]] like other people carry a [[wikipedia:Leatherman|Leatherman]].

*'''Roger''' is a [[Raccoon]] (''Procyon Lotor''). He's a computer [[wikipedia:geek|geek]], [[wikipedia:programmer|programmer]] and electronic transmogrifier. Often the voice of reason when new projects are contemplated, but occasionally the one wondering aloud where they can get some [[wikipedia:Thorium|Thorium]] and a couple particle accelerators. Has been known to troubleshoot [[wikipedia:Electropneumatic paintball gun|electropneumatic]] software over the phone, on the field, and under fire.

*'''Swamp Fox (Swampy)''' is a subspecies of [[Red Fox]] local to the [[wikipedia:Kenai Peninsula|Kenai Peninsula]] (''Vulpes vulpes kenaiensis''). He's your typical laid-back rec player. Swampy is good but not great, and thinks an [[wikipedia:automag (paintball marker)|automag]] is plenty "high tech" for him. A regular hangout at the shop and frequent bystander when a new gadget gets tested, he's usually the first one to call the fire department. Doesn't mind helping sweep up the debris.

*'''Bandit''' is a [[Ferret]] (''Mustela furo''). Skinny and fast, he's out on the field just for fun. Plays pump and [[wikipedia:Stock paintball|stock]], even in tournaments, and can't understand why somebody might need five 9-volts and a thousand [[wikipedia:paintball|paintballs]] for a single game. Can hide behind small twigs and uses [[wikipedia:Sup'Air|Sup'Air]] inflation tubes like other players use the "snake". Owns only one [[wikipedia:Paintball marker|marker]], and knows how to use it.

*'''Snowshoe (Shoey or Shoe)''' is a [[Lynx|Canadian Lynx]] (''Lynx canadensis''). More of a tourney player, Shoe prefers the fast-paced, paint-flyin' games. He's usually got the newest marker he can afford, but often has to be dissuaded from buying the latest overhyped gadget or trading the old one in 'cause new ones are ''nickeled''. Between game days, he can usually be found at the Shop watching paintball videos or flipping through the latest fliers and catalogs.

*'''Jinx''' is an [[Arctic Fox]] (''Alopex lagopus''). Jimmy's the new kid in town, and new to the sport as well. Strangely enough, not everyone thinks that exposure to the regular Crew is necessarily a 'bad' thing. That remains to be seen.

*'''Rainman (Daniel, never Bunny)''' is a [[hare|Snowshoe Hare]] (''Lepus americanus''). Semiserious tourney wannabe, though he spends more time practicing his 'trash talk' than his snapshots. A decent player, but worries more about appearing a professional player than actually being a pro. Yes, he knows he has a famous profile.

*'''Red''' is a subspecies of [[Red Fox]] local to [[wikipedia:Alaska|Alaska]] and northern [[wikipedia:Canada|Canada]] (''Vulpes vulpes alascensis''). He owns the local [[wikipedia:Paintball|Paintball]] Field, and runs it with the help of the Crew and various volunteers. Genuinely wants the customers to have fun, but won't put up with kids who want to "bend" the rules or can't learn to play safely.

*'''Jake''' is a [[Skunk|Striped Skunk]] (''Mephitis mephitis''). He's laid back and easygoing… at least 'til he gets on the field, where he's confident and aggressive. Few players will risk bunkering him after seeing what happened when Bandit got the drop on him during a [[wikipedia:woodsball|woodsball]] game.

*'''Bruno''' is a [[Bear|Brown Bear]] (''Ursus arctos''). Bruno's a bit older than the usual crowd, a little slower and not able to tuck or hide quite as well… But he makes it up in spades by being a devious, methodical and downright sneaky player. A fan of old pumps, he sometimes uses a semiauto just so he's not quite as sore in the morning.

*'''Sandy''' is a [[Red Fox]] (''Vulpes vulpes''). She's the new office girl. Starting out as an accidental hire after a party, she managed to put Doc's paperwork in some semblance of order, which came as a surprise to everyone since even disaster-recovery specialists said that would require heavy machinery, [[wikipedia:high explosives|high explosives]] and [[wikipedia:United Nations|UN]] approval. Knew absolutely nothing about the sport when she first arrived, but she's learning.

*'''Tawny''' is a [[Bobcat]] (''Lynx rufus''). She's Snowshoe's girlfriend. Shoey won't admit it, but if she wasn't keeping his gear cleaned and fixed, he'd never make it to the starting gate in time. He also won't admit she's a better player, and she'll let him win.

*'''Pirta (PJ)''' is a [[Snow leopard]] (''Uncia uncia''). She's a waitress at the Chinese-takeout place down the street. Pirta only knew of the shop antics from what the [[wikipedia:Emergency medical technician|EMT]]s and firemen told her when they'd come in after another call. That is, until she found out an old friend worked there…

==External Links==
* '''Website''': http://www.the-whiteboard.com/
* '''Wikipedia article''': [[wikipedia:The Whiteboard|The Whiteboard]]

{{comic-stub|Whiteboard, The}}

[[Category:Comics|Whiteboard, The]]
[[Category:Alaska|Whiteboard, The]]

Cyantian Chronicles

2007-04-23T00:32:26Z

Madd the Sane: taken from http://comixpedia.org/index.php/The_Cyantian_Chronicles , which I did write.

{{Infobox webcomic
| title = Cyantian Chronicles
| image =
| caption =
| author = [[Tiffany Ross]]
| url = http://www.cyantian.net/
| status = sporadically
| began =
| ended =
| genre = [[Science Fiction]]
| rating = {{rating-14-button2}}
}}

The '''Cyantian Chronicles''' was created by [[Tiffany Ross]] of [[Shivae Comics]] in 2001. Rather than just being one [[comic]], it is a collection of comic series which are all related to each other. They all use the same world, and follow a timeline. In fact, each comic takes place in a set span of time, although they are not arranged according to chronological order on the site except in the about pages. This comic set is generally known as either ''The Cyantian Chronicles'' or as ''Akaelae''. Sections of the comic include ''The Cyantian Chronicles'', ''Exotica Genoworks'', ''Sink or Swim'', ''Campus Safari'', and ''[[Shivae!]]''.

The following is content quoted directly from the comic's about page:

''Akaelae consists of three parts at the moment. The first section is a story entitled: Satin and Silke Prequel. This was originally written and drawn to provide a background story for two characters, Chatin and Cilke and also to introduce Syrys Akaelae, Collin and Quinn. Chatin and Cilke were originally created as consumer goods by Exotica Genoworks. Collin and Quinn are genetically designed Siracs, a name given to psychically gifted racoon species which were singled out to experiment with mental abilities. They were left behind to watch a cryogenically frozen wolf,... an enemy of the fox people, which was also intended to destroy the facility they were in, offering cover to the administration of EG, to remove themselves from the Fox government's hold on them to create more and more violent creations.''

''[...]''

''Akaelae is the actual 'origin' story and prequel to Campus Safari, the first comic I did online. It follows the life of several young wolves and foxes... and many other species as they deal with a world that is suddenly changing from what it has been for as long as they've been alive. New evils have arrived and old ones are returning with a plot to destroy the guardian family of the Cyantian Wolves... the Akaelaes.''

The Cyantian Chronicles is a slew of comics written by [[Tiffany Ross]]. They center around a civilization of fictional [[anthropomorphic]] animals, called Cyantians. It mainly focuses on the [[wolf|wolves]], [[fox|foxes]], and [[cats]] (called mounties in the comic) that were created by an alien race that has disappeared. The stories also include genetically engineered [[wikipedia:skunk|skunks]] that were created by the foxes. Later, in Campus Safari and onward, there have been some humans in the story.

The comic is available online as well as a comic book that can be bought at the Shivae store.

==Species==
the Cyantian Chronicles involves several different species, most of which could be considered furies. These can be divided up into several categories; exotica geneworks creations, Rumuah creations and native Cyantians as well as a number of other non-Cyantians.

==Comics== 
The following comics are currently at the main web site. However, the Cyantian universe is diverse and has many stories that are not on the website. Also, all of the stories are "Graphic Novels in Progress".
===Gralen Cragg Hall===
This story tells what happened in the fox lands when the government was overthrown and a [[wikipedia:genocide|genocide]] of foxes with black, silver, or white fur.

===Genoworks Saga===
Will tell of the events surrounding Exotica Genoworks. This includes the kangaroos from ''Sink or Swim''; the Genoworks skunks Cilke, Chatin, and Cisco; and other Genoworks-related characters.

====Satin and Silk====
Being replaced by Genoworks Saga, it told of what happened to the Genoworks skunks.

===Puppet Strings===
A fairly short arc that involved the return of a Genoworks skunk and an introduction of another psychic raccoon who has ulterior motives.

from the website:

''The second section is Puppet Strings. This was another story featuring the same characters... and their encounter with a lost brother and another Sirac. This story takes place just prior to Akaelae.''

===Akaelae===
This comic shows when the Genoworks skunks and the young elite wolves go to school. They have entered their teens and are going to general education. In this arc, Darius find Darrik, Chatin searches for secrets, and Rama is up to his old tricks again.

Among all of the comics, this is the only one that has all of it's pages in color.

===Campus Safari===
The first comic to come out, it involves Chatin and some of her friends' brief stay on [[wikipedia:Earth|Earth]] when her sister plays with a personal transporter. After getting rescued, they end up going to an academy located on [[wikipedia:Mars|Mars]].

The following stories take place at the same time as ''Campus Safari'':
====Sink or Swim====
This Comic deals with genetically-engineered [[kangaroos]] and their way of life. They were abused by the foxes and when one of them snapped, she severely damaged Exotica Genoworks, allowing many of the tortured military subjects to escape.

====No Angel====
This story involves Jules who wants to return to earth. When she walks into a portal that transports her home, she learns that it would have been wiser to listen to Darius.

====Cesilee's Diary====
Cesilee's Diary mainly deals with Cesilee, an Ocelot/Puma [[hybrid]] that has fallen in love with Marcus. However, he doesn't exactly feel the same way about her.

==Main Characters==
===Chatin===
;Species:Skunk
Created at Exotica Genoworks as "art," she was left behind when the facility was mainly destroyed. She seems a bit clumsy in her early years, but makes it up with her intelligence.

===Darius===
;Species:Wolf
Darius is a short, white wolf. In ''Akeklae'', he is arrogant and a bit of a know-it-all. However, he is considerate and doesn't .
In Campus Safari, he is the headmaster of the College on Mars.

===Quinn===
;Species:Raccoon
Quinn is a childish individual. like all ''Siracs'', or psychic raccoons, she has psychic abilities. She has the ability, and the habit, of teleporting. She has a very happy demeanor and is rarely depressed. Of the two main Siracs (the other being her brother Collin), she is the one who works with expanding her abilities.

===Rama===
;Species:Wolf-Mountie(Cat) hybrid.
The main antagonist in the stories. He seems to hold a big grudge against the wolves, and even got the foxes to fight for him. He was momentarily exiled on earth, but as of Akaklae, has returned.
==Secondary Characters==
* '''Marcus''': A [[furry]] fanatic, was pleasantly surprised when Chatin and Cilke 'arrived' at a furry convention. He asked Cilke to marry him while throwing himself on her tail. He received a black eye for doing that. He is happy to be on Mars and fits in fine.

* '''Jules''': An [[Anime]] fan, she was more or less forced to go to the Mars Academy due to the fact that the [[wikipedia:Men in Black|AMIB]] was coming after her and Marcus. She was reluctant to believe it and wanted to return home. However, when she gets back to earth, she is captured by the AMIB and "persuaded" to be a spy on Mars.

* '''Cilke''': Chatin's "sister."

* '''Sheana''':

* '''Twinky''':  Named after the [[wikipedia:twinky|treat with the same name]], he is a [[were]]-skunk, a human that can change into a normal earth skunk or an anthropomorphic skunk. He is first seen in ''Campus Safari'' as a normal skunk that escaped a maze and was eating Twinkies. He is quickly released back "into the wild," but becomes a frequent visitor. Soon after, he writes a little note and waits on Jules and Marcus's front door. Chatin takes a liking to him and he becomes her "pet." He isn't revealed until after he protects Chatin from an assailant. 

* '''Darrik''': In Akaelae, he is a black fox that was raised in [[wikipedia:Jamaica|Jamaica]]  and somehow ended up on Cyantia. Like all black fox, he has the ability to manipulate matter, but his parents hid this knowledge from him. By ''Campus Safari'', he is married and during this time, his wife gives birth.

* '''Collin''':

* '''Stephen and Sean''':

==Locations==
===Earth===
Cyantian Chronicles takes place during the late 20th-early 21st century.

===Mars===
The place where Mars Academy is located. It, along with [[wikipedia:Venus|Venus]], is being [[wikipedia:Terraform|Terraformed]] to be habitable by the Cyantians as a peace offering to Earth when they make contact. However, the U.S. government seems to think that they are trying to invade and take over [[wikipedia:Earth|Earth]].

===Cyantia===
A planet that has all of the Cyantians. Cyantia is also known as '''Cyantzium'''.
====Avistary====
Cyantia's moon. It is about five times the size of our moon, and it also has its own moon. It is mainly inhabited by Avisterians, or anthropomorphic birds.

{{stub}}

== See also ==

* [http://www.shivae.org/wiki/ ShivaeWiki], which contains content about all of the Shivae Studios comics, including the Cyantian Chronicles

== External links ==

* [http://cyantian.net/ Cyantian Chornicles website]
* [http://cyantian.net/world/timeline.html The Cyantian Chronicles Timeline]
* [http://cyantian.net/tails/d/20040912.html Graphical Timeline]

[[category:Comics]]

User talk:Aboutslaught

2007-04-23T00:16:35Z

Madd the Sane: ah forget it.

User talk:Aboutslaught

2007-04-23T00:15:21Z

Madd the Sane: Don't vandalize.

== Vandalism==
Please stop vandalizing this Wiki; It's rude.

Nip and Tuck

2007-04-23T00:10:24Z

Madd the Sane: oops...

{{Infobox webcomic
| title = Nip and Tuck
| image = [[Image:Ntbutton.gif]]
| caption =
| author = [[Ralph Hayes, Jr.]]
| url = http://www.rhjunior.com/NT/
| status = Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
| began = October 2000
| ended = Ongoing
| genre = [[Fantasy]]
| rating = [[Image:Censor_PG_button.png]][[Category:Rated PG]]
}}

'''Nip and Tuck''' is a webcomic created by [[Ralph Hayes, Jr.]] , not to be confused by the FX television drama [[wikipedia:Nip/Tuck | Nip/Tuck]]. The comic follows the adventures of a pair of rural [[fox]]es called Nip and Tuck.

Nip and Tuck Todd are twin fox brothers from [[Malarkey County]], an unspecified location in the southern United States. They are the central characters in a continuing comic strip that revolves around them, their friends and their adventures.

Arguably the most political of [[Ralph Hayes, Jr.|Ralph Hayes Junior]]'s three strips (the other two being [[Tales of the Questor]] and [[Goblin Hollow]]), much of the strip is imbibed with the author's political views as an American Conservative. The strip also contains much to demolish the traditional stereotypes of Southern rural folk, often containing jokes at the expense of liberals and Democrats, personified in this strip by [[Gilly Gopher]], the resident village idiot.

Other notable characters include [[Tagger]], a mischievous, intelligent and business minded ten-year old [[beaver]], [[Lucy Todd|Lucy]] and [[Roy Todd]] (Nip and Tuck's parents), [[Gus Gunthrie]] (as much of a villain as the strip has, he's a boorish, drunken jerk), [[Pop Otto]] and the [[Pop's Auto Girls]] (three beautiful women cut from the [[Wikipedia:Daisy Duke|Daisy Duke]] cloth), Big Malarkey (the Malarkey County lake monster), [[Thelma Possum]] (Tuck's girlfriend), [[Lil Bit]] (cute little [[bunny]] girl, out of the MANY brood children of [[Mr. & Mrs. Lapine]]), [[Schlep]] (the Arabic [[camel]] owner of the local Speedy Mart), [[Gus]] (not to be confused with [[Gus Gunthrie]], is an old codger of a [[turtle]]) and other characters who pop in (sometimes commissioned by patrons).

The strip is largely episodic in nature, though the length of each particular storyline varies greatly.

== See also ==

* [[:Category:Nip and Tuck characters|Nip and Tuck characters]]

[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:2000 births]]

Over the Hedge (film)

2007-04-23T00:02:58Z

Madd the Sane: fixed some links to Wikipedia. Might just remove unneccesary links in future.

{{Wikify}}
{{Cleanup-context}}
[[image:Over the hedge poster.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Over the Hedge poster]]
'''''Over the Hedge''''' is a [[Wikipedia:computer animation|computer-animated]] film based on the [[Wikipedia:United Media|United Media]] [[Wikipedia:Over the Hedge|comic strip of the same name]]. Directed by [[Wikipedia:Tim Johnson|Tim Johnson]] and [[Wikipedia:Karey Kirkpatrick|Karey Kirkpatrick]] and produced by [[Wikipedia:Bonnie Arnold|Bonnie Arnold]], it was released in the United States on May 19, 2006.

Produced by [[Wikipedia:DreamWorks Animation|DreamWorks Animation]] and distributed by [[Wikipedia:Paramount Pictures|Paramount Pictures]] (due to [[Wikipedia:Viacom|Viacom]]'s -- the parent of Paramount -- acquisition of its former parent company [[Wikipedia:DreamWorks|DreamWorks SKG]]), the film was rated [[Wikipedia:MPAA film rating system|PG]] by the [[Wikipedia:Motion Picture Association of America|MPAA]] for some rude humor and mild comic action. The movie was made in Redwood City, California

A soundtrack, "[[Wikipedia:Over the Hedge (Music from the Motion Picture)|Over the Hedge]]", featuring music by [[Wikipedia:Ben Folds|Ben Folds]], was released by [[Wikipedia:Epic Records|Epic Records]] and [[Wikipedia:Sony Music Soundtrack|Sony Music Soundtrack]].
==Movie==
===Summary===
{{spoiler}}
RJ, the [[Raccoon|Raccoon]] (voiced by [[Wikipedia:Bruce Willis|Bruce Willis]]), after unsuccessfully trying to get a snack item from a [[Wikipedia:vending machine|vending machine]], ventures into the cave of the hibernating [[bear]] Vincent ([[Wikipedia:Nick Nolte|Nick Nolte]]). While attempting to steal Vincent's cache of goods, as well as his red wagon and blue cooler, RJ accidentally wakes Vincent, who after realizing what RJ is doing, attempts to scare him into giving his stuff back. RJ, in a panic, knocks the wagon of food into the street, it looks ok, and RJ and Vincent laugh about it, when it is run over by a truck and is destroyed. The furious Vincent gives RJ an ultimatum: replace everything within a week, or get eaten. RJ finds the new [[Wikipedia:suburbs|suburban]] development El Rancho Camelot Estates in western [[Wikipedia:Indiana|Indiana]] where he can steal all the replacement items he needs. There, a community of [[foraging|foragers]] led by the practical [[turtle]], Verne ([[Wikipedia:Garry Shandling|Garry Shandling]]), awakens from hibernation. He immediately directs his charges — Hammy (RJ during the film calls him "Hamilton") the cookie-addicted, hyperactive [[squirrel]] ([[Steve Carell]]); Stella the [[skunk]] with attitude ([[Wanda Sykes]]); Ozzie the [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearian]] [[opossum]] ([[William Shatner]]) and his 16-year-old frequently embarrassed daughter Heather ([[Avril Lavigne]]); and [[Minnesota]]-accented [[porcupine]]s Lou ([[Eugene Levy]]) and [[Canada|Canadian]]-accented Penny ([[Catherine O'Hara]]), and their young offspring Spike, Bucky, and Quillo — to start their yearly search for food to store. To their surprise and trepidation, they discover a [[hedge]]: which they call 'Steve' until RJ directs them otherwise. RJ, coming onto the scene, prompts them to scavenge for the food treasures he promises they'll find beyond it, while Verne fears for what traps or predators also await. Yet a determined and desperate RJ gets the woodland creatures to explore. Using a combination of con artistry and [[caper movie]] antics, they successfully snatch a wagon full of [[Girl Scout]]-like [[cookie]]s (which begins Hammy's addiction). Seeing this, the whole group except Verne joins in and begins to steal other foods from the neighborhood of overfed, [[SUV]]-driving humans, along with other items on the list RJ secretly keeps.

All this prompts the ire of home-owner association president Gladys Sharp ([[Allison Janney]]) , who hires a pest-control specialist Dwayne LaFontant, who calls himself The Verminator ([[Thomas Haden Church]]). Seeing this, and realizing that they might be in danger, Verne tries to return everything they've stolen as a bargain to the humans to spare their lives — leading to an action set-piece involving himself and RJ, a chasing, "play"-spouting dog, a wagon piled high with goods and goodies, and a canister of [[barbecue]] [[propane]], and a backyard [[slide]] that launches the wagon, Verne and RJ into the sky. The sequence ends with the two animals falling, unhurt, to earth, while the errant, ad hoc rocket crashes in a stylized, [[Wikipedia:mushroom-cloud|mushroom-cloud]] fireball. When RJ and Verne are rocketed back over the hedge, RJ and the other animals get mad at Verne. While trying to warn the others of RJ's plan to use them, Verne turns on RJ, and claims that him is making his friends do whatever he likes because they're "too stupid and naiive to know any better". Verne then tries to take back what he said, but the damage has already been done, and circumstances get worse as Verne tries to come up with a less hurtful description, and says ignorant. But no one is more hearbroken then Hammy, as Verne's hand was unintentionally pointing at ''him'' during his outburst. Hammy tearfully says "I'm not stupid", and takes the comment seriously with him being very hyperactive and somewhat childlike. Angry and hurt, Verne's friends leave him, and the turtle is all alone. Verne is then by himself, as he wonders what is truly best for his family and whether he belongs in it any more. But Verne isn't the only one with problems.

During his time with the foragers, RJ can't resist but having a growing affection for all of them. They're so kind, soft, and even give him a spot for himself so he wouldn't need to sleep on a tree. He slowly realizes that he shouldn't be using them for his own selfish needs, but should he blurt them out his secret and break their hearts?

RJ then goes to Verne, cools down and cheers him up. With RJ's help, Verne apologizes to his reluctant friends, and they welcome him back. Now, RJ stages the biggest heist yet, from the supplies of the big "welcome to the neighborhood" party Gladys plans for the following day. With Stella disguised as a cat, in order to distract the haughty guard-cat Tiger, the others raid her kitchen. They're almost in the clear when RJ. spies a can of Spuddies — Vincent's favorite food, and the last item on the list — and in trying to retrieve it, like at the beginning, keeps the rest of the crew in the house long enough for Gladys to spot them. The Verminator's traps catch all of the animals — all except RJ, who escapes with the wagon of Vincent's replacement goods. As the caged others are driven away, RJ meets Vincent in the woods, where the bear congratulates RJ on successfully "conning the suckers" and getting what he needed. He paints himself and RJ as two of a kind. Realizing the path to which his unchecked drifting will lead, RJ turns on Vincent, who didn't deserve all the food, and uses the piled-high wagon to crash into the Verminator's van, launching a rescue attempt. The enraged Vincent goes after RJ, determined to kill him. While being chased by the bear, the young porcupines direct the Verminator's van into the home of Gladys Sharp, much to her dislike. Vincent is donked by a hammer, pricked by Penny, and is finally sent flying with a balloon - a scene which is a parody to the ending of [[Alien (film)]]. All of the animals pull out of the van as the verminator regains consciousness.

Vincent lands on the animal's side of the hedge, where he begins to claw furiously to get RJ, while the verminator activates his electric wand and attempts to poke out the animals, determined to finish the job. Suddenly, the back door to Gladys' home swings open, and she emerges and clicks on the dreaded weed whacker and begins to swing furiously at the hedge, exclaiming "Show your ratty little faces! Stay in the woods where you belong?!" Trapped between Vincent and the humans, RJ and Verne quickly concoct a plan. They give a highly [[caffeine|caffeinated]] cola to the already [[adrenaline]]-rushing Hammy (notorious throughout the film for his ridiculously high levels of speed and uncontrolled energy), leading to a scene (reminiscent of others from U.S. [[TV]]'s ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'', Episode 70 of ''[[Futurama]]'' (''[[Three Hundred Big Boys]]'') and the [[DC Comics]] character [[The Flash]]) where his perceptions and motion are so sped up that the world appears to stand still, as if time has stopped. Hammy, strolling along but at super-speed with his power to travel through time itself, adjusts the trap controls (and collects one of his beloved cookies on the way). As he slows down back to normal speed (seen as the rest of the world gradually speeding up to him), RJ and Verne's plan succeeds, leading to Vincent getting trapped and set to be shipped to the [[Wikipedia:Rocky Mountains|Rockies]], Gladys fighting with the authorities and being arrested not only for the illegal man trap she arranged, but also for assaulting a police officer, and the Verminator tiptoeing away from the scene, only to be chased by the playful dog from before. RJ, now a hero to the other animals in deed as well as in word, settles down and agrees to be a father figure to the animal community. They in turn explain that if they had been truthfully told about RJ's predicament in the beginning, they would have helped him settle his debt, "...because that’s what families do", says Verne.

After the credits, the characters return to the vending machine RJ visited during the opening scene, now fully stocked. The entire vending machine is emptied in one shot to the delight of all, but the PUSH bar cannot be moved and no food can be retrieved. Hammy comments, "Kinda anti-climactic."
{{endspoiler}}

The animals are shown to survive, as they appear in "Hammy's Boomerang Adventure", a short film exclusively for the DVD.

===Voice cast===
* [[Bruce Willis]] - [[RJ]] the [[Raccoon]]
* [[Garry Shandling]] - [[Verne]] the [[Turtle]]
* [[Steve Carell]] - [[Hammy]] the [[Squirrel]]
* [[William Shatner]] - [[Ozzie]] the [[Opossum]]
* [[Avril Lavigne]] - [[Heather]], Ozzie's daughter
* [[Wanda Sykes]] - [[Stella]] the [[Skunk]]
* [[Nick Nolte]] - Vincent the [[Bear]]
* [[Allison Janney]] - Gladys Sharp
* [[Thomas Haden Church]] - Dwayne LaFontant, The Verminator
* [[Eugene Levy]] - Lou the [[Porcupine]]
* [[Catherine O'Hara]] - Penny, Lou's wife
* Sami Kirkpatrick - Bucky, one of Lou and Penny's kids
* Shane Baumel - Spike, one of Lou and Penny's kids
* Madison Davenport - Quillo, one of Lou and Penny's kids
* [[Brian Stepanek]] - Nugent the [[Dog]]
* [[Omid Djalili]] - Tiger the [[Persian (cat)|Persian]]
* Zoe Randol - Mackenzie
* [[Jessica Di Cicco]] - Shelby
* [[Debra Wilson]] - Debbie
* Sean Bishop - Police Officer
* Jeannie Elias - Janis
* Kejon Kesse - Timmy
* Paul Butcher - Skeeter
* [[Sean Yazbeck]] - BBQ Barry
* Geoffrey Pomeroy - Ranger
* Joel McCrary - Dr. Dennis
* [[Lee Bienstock]] - Lunch Table Larry
* Additional Voices by [[Steve Alterman]], [[Kirk Bailey]], [[Jessie Flower]], [[Nicholas Guest]], [[David Hiller]], [[Bridget Hoffman]], [[Sandy Holt]], [[Talula Holt]], [[Erin Lander]], [[Jordan Orr]], [[Michelle Ruff]], [[Greyson Spann]], [[Marcelo Tubert]], [[Ariel Winter]]

===Crew===
* Directed by [[Tim Johnson]] and [[Karey Kirkpatrick]]
* Produced by [[Bonnie Arnold]]
* Executive producer [[Bill Damaschke]]
* Screenplay by [[Len Blum]] and [[Lorne Cameron]] & [[David Hoselton]] and [[Karey Kirkpatrick]]
* Music by [[Rupert Gregson-Williams]]
* Songs by [[Ben Folds]]

===Reception===
The film's opening weekend grossed $38,457,003 in 4,093 theaters. As of July 19, 2006, the film had earned $239,307,057 worldwide.<ref>[http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=overthehedge.htm Box Office Mojo: ''Over the Hedge'']</ref>
Critical reaction was mostly positive with the film being rated 75% on the [[Rotten Tomatoes]] movie review aggregate site. Critic [[Frank Lovece]] of ''Film Journal International'' found that, "DreamWorks' slapstick animated adaptation of the philosophically satiric comic strip ... is a lot of laughs and boasts a much tighter story than most animated features"<ref>[http://filmjournal.com/filmjournal/reviews/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002539020 ''Film Journal Internationl'': ''Over the Hedge'' review by Frank Lovece]</ref> Ken Fox of ''[[TV Guide|TVGuide.com]]'' called it "a sly satire of American 'enough is never enough' consumerism and blind progress at the expense of the environment. It's also very funny, and the little woodland critters that make up the cast are a kiddie-pleasing bunch".<ref>[http://online.tvguide.com/newsearch/detail.aspx?id=46819&sourcetype=m&progseriesparentid=0&tvobjectid=0&keyword=&more=ucmoviereview TV Guide Online ''Over the Hedge'' review by Ken Fox]</ref> Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper of "Ebert & Roeper" gave the animated movie a "two thumbs up". <ref>[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060518/REVIEWS/60509002/1023 RogerEbert.com: ''Chicago Sun-Times'' (May 19, 2006): ''Over the Hedge'' review by Roger Ebert]</ref> <ref>[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/author-3822/?letter=o&cats=1%2C+2%2C+3%2C+4%2C+5%2C+7%2C+8%2C+29%2C+12%2C+13%2C+14%2C+16%2C+17%2C+18%2C+19%2C+20%2C+21%2C+22%2C+24%2C+23%2C+26%2C+27&genreid=&switches=# Rottentomatoes.com: Richard Roeper]</ref> [[Michael Medved]] gave ''Over the Hedge'' three stars (out of four) saying even though "..the P.C. messages that families come in all shapes and sizes is a bit gratuitous and heavy-handed..", overall he found the movie "..surprisingly satisfying..".<ref> [http://www.townhall.com/TalkRadio/Show.aspx?ContentGuid=bc60d434-3670-4284-973a-30fb02b1fffe&RadioShowId=4]</ref>
Jeffery Katzenberg is considering making a sequel to the movie, due to its success and the maker's love of the characters.

===Animals featured===
*[[Raccoon]] (RJ)
*[[Turtle|Box Turtle]] (Verne)
*[[European Red Squirrel]] (Hammy)
*[[Striped Skunk]] (Stella)
*[[North American Porcupine]] (Penny, Lou, Bucky, Quillo and Spike)
*[[Opossum|Virginia Opossum]] (Ozzie and Heather)
*[[Black Bear]] (Vincent)
*[[Firefly]] (Seen above RJ's head twice and once above Verne's head, resembling the [[lightbulb gag]] in cartoons)
*[[Bee]] (Used by Hammy to make [[honey]] on a piece of [[wood]], mentioned in the upcoming ''Bee Movie'', an animated film set for November 2007)
*[[Dragonfly]] (Seen caught in [[bug zapper]])
*[[Dog]] (Nugent)
*[[Cat]] (Tiger)
*[[Human]] (Gladys, Verminator, and various others)

===Trivia===
{{toomuchtrivia}}
====General====
*This film has very strong evidence that the movie takes place in American state of [[Indiana]]. In one scene as Verne is on a toy car being driven during his first encounter of the suburb, one home has an [[Indianapolis Colts]] banner, plus in another scene right after the impact of the illegal machine and Vincent the bear and other humans it subsequently shows the impace fomr space indicating somewhere in the Indianapolis area. And finally, many of the human characters in the film and Verne the turtle have Midwestern Indiana accents. Although, in one line spoken by Dwayne LaFontant (the Verminator), he says that a trap he sold to the suburban family is "illegal in every state except [[Texas]]".
*Ozzie the possum is refered to once as 'The Oz-man' The three porcupines then salute with 'the horns'. A clear reference to Black Sabbath frontman Ozzie Osbourne,
*Some retail chains offered different promotional items with purchase of the DVD. [[Target Corporation|Target]]: Bonus full length CD called "Rockin Rj's From Suburbia," [[Best Buy]]: Bonus book of the comic strips called "Stuffed Animals," [[Wal-Mart]]: Bonus DVD called "Hammy's Nutty-Fun DVD," [[K-Mart]]: Hammy Plush. [[Blockbuster Video]]: Included an exclusive metal tin for storing the DVD Case.
*The film was originally announced for a November 2005 release.
*[[Ben Folds]] re-wrote the lyrics to the closing song "[[Rockin' the Suburbs (song)|Rockin' the Suburbs]]", replacing the teenage [[angst]] and [[nu metal]] parodies with a more child-friendly attack on Suburbia. This version also features a spoken part by [[William Shatner]], who plays Ozzie in the film. [http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/review.php?id=1200]
*The film is the first from DreamWorks Animation SKG to be based on a comic strip.
*Pan-Asian star [[BoA]] will debut in the big screen as the voice of Heather in the [[Korean language|Korean]] and [[Japanese language|Japanese]]-dubbed versions of the movie.
*Pop star [[Avril Lavigne]] debuts in her first film role playing a character and not herself.
*[[Jim Carrey]] was originally announced to voice RJ.
*The movie was banned in [[People's Republic of China|China]], because of its "deception of free world". {{fact}} 
*The stackable potato chips branded Spuddies in the film is a spoof of [[Pringles]] chips. In an early trailer, the chip brand was known as Jingles and featured the Pringles logo with a [[court jester]]'s cap on.
*The film has certain similarities to the [[Isao Takahata]] movie ''[[Pom Poko]]''. ''Over the Hedge'' does not, however, develop the themes of environmentalism or anti-urbanization, and focuses on the animals' harmless preying on the bumbling humans, making the similarities between the two films contextual rather than substantive. As the critic for ''Film Journal International'' suggested (link under "References"), a closer comparison might be to [[Meredith Willson]]'s ''[[The Music Man]]'', which also centers on a slick con artist redeemed by his marks, and finding a surrogate family. The commentary track on the DVD confirms that the movie version of RJ (right down to his habit of carrying a bag) was partially inspired by Professor Harold Hill.
*After winning a [[Wal-Mart]] and [[Microsoft]] [[Xbox 360]] task on ''[[The Apprentice 5]]'', eventual Final Two [[Sean Yazbeck]] (eventual winner) and [[Lee Bienstock]] (You're Fired #17) have cameos in the film as BBQ Barry and Lunchtable Larry.
*Among the TV series spoofed in the scene of RJ. flipping TV channels in the forest are ''[[Wikipedia:Dr. Phil (TV series)|Dr. Phil]]'' and ''[[All My Children]]''.
* After the TV parody scene, RJ can be seen huffing out of a bag of OH-NO's brand chips to quell his anxiety. "OH NOES!" is a sarcastic expression of despair in [[List of Internet slang|internet slang]]. This also makes fun of the names of numerous [[Frito-Lay]] chip products, such as [[Cheetos]], [[Doritos]] and [[Fritos]].
*During the scene where Ozzie plays dead, he spies a rose bush and mutters, "Rosebud". That is a reference to ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' in which Charles Foster Kane mutters a cryptic "Rosebud" before he passes away.
*Nugnet is actually not named in this film.
*When Verne the turtle is in his shell, he has a short, stubby tail. However, when out of his shell, he has human-style buttocks. This continuity flub is necessitated by two sight-gags involving buttocks, as well as dialogue referencing the tail.
*The logo of Dwayne LaFontaine, the Verminator's pest and vermin control company, featuring a man resembling himself hitting a rabbit with a hammer, is a spoof of a pest control company in [[California]], [[Nevada]], and [[Arizona]]; namely one Western Extermination Company, whose logo features a man named Kernel Kleenup with a top hat and suit about to squash a rat with his hammer.[http://www.west-ext.com/little_man.html]
*During the rolling end credits, the ''Over the Hedge'' comic strip can be seen three times - once, the porcupine kids are being taught to read with one; Hammy paints a portrait of RJ and Verne in the style of the strip, and finally, RJ shows three panels of a strip, and Vern, reluctantly, displays the final frame on his back. Also during the credits, Hammy references [[Khan Noonien Singh]]'s plot against [[James T. Kirk|Captain Kirk]] in ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'' (which was also distributed by Paramount Pictures and also stars [[William Shatner]], as Kirk).
*The child who plays one of the porcupine triplets, Bucky, is Sami Kirkpatrick, the son of Karey Kirkpatrick, one of the directors of the film.
*Both Eugene Levy (Lou) and Catherine O'Hara (Penny) were once regulars on ''[[Wikipedia:Second City Television|SCTV]]''.
*The infamous [[Wikipedia:THX|THX]] [[Wikipedia:Deep Note|Deep Note]] is used in a scene late in the film, and the famous "The usual, sir?" [[Wikipedia:Maxell|Maxell]] commercial is parodied as well. Also noted is that the movie itself is THX enhanced. {{check}}
*The first DreamWorks film to be distributed by [[Wikipedia:Paramount Pictures|Paramount Pictures]], due to the fact that it purchased DreamWorks in 2005. The last DreamWorks movie to be distributed by themselves was ''[[Wikipedia:She's the Man|She's the Man]]'', which was made before the purchase.
*In the scene where the animals are in the hedge and Dwayne is shooting his ray into the hedge, it is a parody of 2005's movie adaptation of ''[[Wikipedia:War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds]]'' (a Paramount/DreamWorks co-production) when the tripods are firing the heat-rays onto the street.
*In this film, Thomas Hayden Church plays an exterminator. In another animated summer release of 2006, ''[[Wikipedia:The Ant Bully|The Ant Bully]]'', [[Paul Giamatti]] plays an exterminator. Both actors had leading roles in the film ''[[Sideways]]''.
*The CD in RJ's golf bag says "[[John Tesh]]". In red ink, it's listed as being worth 10 cents.
*In the sequence parodying [[Wikipedia:Girl Scout cookie|Girl Scout cookies]] delivery, RJ mentions several varieties: "Love Handles, Skinny Mints, Neener Neeners, and Smackaroons!" The DVD release also contains images of several other "Trail Guide Gals" cookie varieties: Piggy Backs, Red Rovers, and Too-Da-Loos.
*Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara (Lou and Penny) also played a married couple in ''[[Wikipedia:Best in Show (film)|Best in Show]]'' and in the animated TV series adaptation of Over the Hedge comic strip co-creator Michael Fry's comic panel, "Committed."
*As Stella runs away from Tiger during the chaotic escape scene from Gladys's home, he cries "Stella, Stella!", a clear reference to [[Marlon Brando]]s famous line from ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]''.
*Both ''[[Wikipedia:Hoodwinked|Hoodwinked]]'' and ''Over the Hedge'' feature a hyperactive squirrel who climatically drinks a caffeinated beverage to save the day.
*RJ makes a reference to [[Wikipedia:Doritos|Doritos]] in this film when he introduces animals to the chip, then saying, "Nacho Cheese Flavored". Nacho Cheese happens to be a flavor of Doritos.
*In the beginning of the movie the Hedge is called 'Steve' by Hammy during his first encounter of the Hedge. This is a direct take from the comic strip in which the character says the same thing and also [[Wikipedia:Steve Carrell|Steve Carrell]] is the actor that voices Hammy.
*The scene where Hammy drinks the caffeine is very similar to the movie ''[[Clockstoppers]]''.

====Inaccuracies====
*[[Turtle]]s can't take their shells off. However, during the film, it is strongly implied Verne's shell is damaged, which is why it is removable. (RJ comments after using it to trick Vincent, "Don't you ever get this shell fixed!")
*[[Squirrel|Tree squirrels]], [[wikipedia:porcupine|North American porcupine]]s, [[skunk]]s, and [[opossum|Virginia opossum]]s don't hibernate.
*Modern-day turtles don't have teeth, like their ancient ancestors did.
*The movie features both visible and invisible [[wikipedia:laser|lasers]] in the same location.
*Turtles don't have buttocks, like a [[human]].
*raccoons and skunks are [[wikipedia:nocturnal|nocturnal]].


==Comic==
{{stub}}
== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*[http://www.overthehedgemovie.com/ Official site]
*{{imdb title|id=0327084|title=Over the Hedge}}
*{{rotten-tomatoes|id=over_the_hedge|title=Over the Hedge}}
* [http://star-talk-live-interview-archive.blogspot.com/2006/05/interview-bruce-willis-wanda-sykes.html Interivews: Bruce Willis and Wanda Sykes]

==External links==
*[http://www.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/overthehedge/ Over the Hedge Trailers](Apple Quicktime) [http://www.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/overthehedge/hd/ (HD)]
{{wikipedia|Over the Hedge (film)}}

Over the Hedge (film)

2007-04-22T23:50:40Z

Madd the Sane: /* Inaccuracies */ fixing links, sometimes to Wikipedia

{{Wikify}}
{{Cleanup-context}}
[[image:Over the hedge poster.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Over the Hedge poster]]
'''''Over the Hedge''''' is a [[Wikipedia:computer animation|computer-animated]] film based on the [[Wikipedia:United Media|United Media]] [[Wikipedia:Over the Hedge|comic strip of the same name]]. Directed by [[Wikipedia:Tim Johnson|Tim Johnson]] and [[Wikipedia:Karey Kirkpatrick|Karey Kirkpatrick]] and produced by [[Wikipedia:Bonnie Arnold|Bonnie Arnold]], it was released in the United States on May 19, 2006.

Produced by [[Wikipedia:DreamWorks Animation|DreamWorks Animation]] and distributed by [[Wikipedia:Paramount Pictures|Paramount Pictures]] (due to [[Wikipedia:Viacom|Viacom]]'s -- the parent of Paramount -- acquisition of its former parent company [[Wikipedia:DreamWorks|DreamWorks SKG]]), the film was rated [[Wikipedia:MPAA film rating system|PG]] by the [[Wikipedia:Motion Picture Association of America|MPAA]] for some rude humor and mild comic action. The movie was made in Redwood City, California

A soundtrack, "[[Wikipedia:Over the Hedge (Music from the Motion Picture)|Over the Hedge]]", featuring music by [[Wikipedia:Ben Folds|Ben Folds]], was released by [[Wikipedia:Epic Records|Epic Records]] and [[Wikipedia:Sony Music Soundtrack|Sony Music Soundtrack]].

==Summary==
{{spoiler}}
RJ, the [[Common Raccoon|Raccoon]] (voiced by [[Bruce Willis]]), after unsuccessfully trying to get a snack item from a [[vending machine]], ventures into the cave of the hibernating [[bear]] Vincent ([[Nick Nolte]]). While attempting to steal Vincent's cache of goods, as well as his red wagon and blue cooler, RJ accidentally wakes Vincent, who after realizing what RJ is doing, attempts to scare him into giving his stuff back. RJ, in a panic, knocks the wagon of food into the street, it looks ok, and RJ and Vincent laugh about it, when it is run over by a truck and is destroyed. The furious Vincent gives RJ an ultimatum: replace everything within a week, or get eaten. RJ finds the new [[suburbs|suburban]] development El Rancho Camelot Estates in western [[Indiana]] where he can steal all the replacement items he needs. There, a community of [[foraging|foragers]] led by the practical [[turtle]], Verne ([[Garry Shandling]]), awakens from hibernation. He immediately directs his charges — Hammy (RJ during the film calls him "Hamilton") the cookie-addicted, hyperactive [[squirrel]] ([[Steve Carell]]); Stella the [[skunk]] with attitude ([[Wanda Sykes]]); Ozzie the [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearian]] [[opossum]] ([[William Shatner]]) and his 16-year-old frequently embarrassed daughter Heather ([[Avril Lavigne]]); and [[Minnesota]]-accented [[porcupine]]s Lou ([[Eugene Levy]]) and [[Canada|Canadian]]-accented Penny ([[Catherine O'Hara]]), and their young offsprings Spike, Bucky, and Quillo — to start their yearly search for food to store. To their surprise and trepidation, they discover a [[hedge]]: which they call 'Steve' until RJ directs them otherwise. RJ, coming onto the scene, prompts them to scavenge for the food treasures he promises they'll find beyond it, while Verne fears for what traps or predators also await. Yet a determined and desperate RJ gets the woodland creatures to explore. Using a combination of con artistry and [[caper movie]] antics, they successfully snatch a wagon full of [[Girl Scout]]-like [[cookie]]s (which begins Hammy's addiction). Seeing this, the whole group except Verne joins in and begins to steal other foods from the neighborhood of overfed, [[SUV]]-driving humans, along with other items on the list RJ secretly keeps.

All this prompts the ire of home-owner association president Gladys Sharp ([[Allison Janney]]) , who hires a pest-control specialist Dwayne LaFontant, who calls himself The Verminator ([[Thomas Haden Church]]). Seeing this, and realizing that they might be in danger, Verne tries to return everything they've stolen as a bargain to the humans to spare their lives — leading to an action set-piece involving himself and RJ, a chasing, "play"-spouting dog, a wagon piled high with goods and goodies, and a canister of [[barbecue]] [[propane]], and a backyard [[slide]] that launches the wagon, Verne and RJ into the sky. The sequence ends with the two animals falling, unhurt, to earth, while the errant, ad hoc rocket crashes in a stylized, [[mushroom-cloud]] fireball. When RJ and Verne are rocketed back over the hedge, RJ and the other animals get mad at Verne. While trying to warn the others of RJ's plan to use them, Verne turns on RJ, and claims that him is making his friends do whatever he likes because they're "too stupid and naiive to know any better". Verne then tries to take back what he said, but the damage has already been done, and circumstances get worse as Verne tries to come up with a less hurtful description, and says ignorant. But no one is more hearbroken then Hammy, as Verne's hand was unintentionally pointing at ''him'' during his outburst. Hammy tearfully says "I'm not stupid", and takes the comment seriously with him being very hyperactive and somewhat childlike. Angry and hurt, Verne's friends leave him, and the turtle is all alone. Verne is then by himself, as he wonders what is truly best for his family and whether he belongs in it any more. But Verne isn't the only one with problems.

During his time with the foragers, RJ can't resist but having a growing affection for all of them. They're so kind, soft, and even give him a spot for himself so he wouldn't need to sleep on a tree. He slowly realizes that he shouldn't be using them for his own selfish needs, but should he blurt them out his secret and break their hearts?

RJ then goes to Verne, cools down and cheers him up. With RJ's help, Verne apologizes to his reluctant friends, and they welcome him back. Now, RJ stages the biggest heist yet, from the supplies of the big "welcome to the neighborhood" party Gladys plans for the following day. With Stella disguised as a cat, in order to distract the haughty guard-cat Tiger, the others raid her kitchen. They're almost in the clear when RJ. spies a can of Spuddies — Vincent's favorite food, and the last item on the list — and in trying to retrieve it, like at the beginning, keeps the rest of the crew in the house long enough for Gladys to spot them. The Verminator's traps catch all of the animals — all except RJ, who escapes with the wagon of Vincent's replacement goods. As the caged others are driven away, RJ meets Vincent in the woods, where the bear congratulates RJ on successfully "conning the suckers" and getting what he needed. He paints himself and RJ as two of a kind. Realizing the path to which his unchecked drifting will lead, RJ turns on Vincent, who didn't deserve all the food, and uses the piled-high wagon to crash into the Verminator's van, launching a rescue attempt. The enraged Vincent goes after RJ, determined to kill him. While being chased by the bear, the young porcupines direct the Verminator's van into the home of Gladys Sharp, much to her dislike. Vincent is donked by a hammer, pricked by Penny, and is finally sent flying with a balloon - a scene which is a parody to the ending of [[Alien (film)]]. All of the animals pull out of the van as the verminator regains consciousness.

Vincent lands on the animal's side of the hedge, where he begins to claw furiously to get RJ, while the verminator activates his electric wand and attempts to poke out the animals, determined to finish the job. Suddenly, the back door to Gladys' home swings open, and she emerges and clicks on the dreaded weed whacker and begins to swing furiously at the hedge, exclaiming "Show your ratty little faces! Stay in the woods where you belong?!" Trapped between Vincent and the humans, RJ and Verne quickly concoct a plan. They give a highly [[caffeine|caffeinated]] cola to the already [[adrenaline]]-rushing Hammy (notorious throughout the film for his ridiculously high levels of speed and uncontrolled energy), leading to a scene (reminiscent of others from U.S. [[TV]]'s ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'', Episode 70 of ''[[Futurama]]'' (''[[Three Hundred Big Boys]]'') and the [[DC Comics]] character [[The Flash]]) where his perceptions and motion are so sped up that the world appears to stand still, as if time has stopped. Hammy, strolling along but at super-speed with his power to travel through time itself, adjusts the trap controls (and collects one of his beloved cookies on the way). As he slows down back to normal speed (seen as the rest of the world gradually speeding up to him), RJ and Verne's plan succeeds, leading to Vincent getting trapped and set to be shipped to the [[Rocky Mountains|Rockies]], Gladys fighting with the authorities and being arrested not only for the illegal man trap she arranged, but also for assaulting a police officer, and the Verminator tiptoeing away from the scene, only to be chased by the playful dog from before. RJ, now a hero to the other animals in deed as well as in word, settles down and agrees to be a father figure to the animal community. They in turn explain that if they had been truthfully told about RJ's predicament in the beginning, they would have helped him settle his debt, "...because that’s what families do", says Verne.

After the credits, the characters return to the vending machine RJ visited during the opening scene, now fully stocked. The entire vending machine is emptied in one shot to the delight of all, but the PUSH bar cannot be moved and no food can be retrieved. Hammy comments, "Kinda anti-climactic."
{{endspoiler}}

The animals are shown to survive, as they appear in "Hammy's Boomerang Adventure", a short film exclusively for the DVD.

==Voice cast==
* [[Bruce Willis]] - [[RJ]] the [[Raccoon]]
* [[Garry Shandling]] - [[Verne]] the [[Turtle]]
* [[Steve Carell]] - [[Hammy]] the [[Squirrel]]
* [[William Shatner]] - [[Ozzie]] the [[Opossum]]
* [[Avril Lavigne]] - [[Heather]], Ozzie's daughter
* [[Wanda Sykes]] - [[Stella]] the [[Skunk]]
* [[Nick Nolte]] - Vincent the [[Bear]]
* [[Allison Janney]] - Gladys Sharp
* [[Thomas Haden Church]] - Dwayne LaFontant, The Verminator
* [[Eugene Levy]] - Lou the [[Porcupine]]
* [[Catherine O'Hara]] - Penny, Lou's wife
* Sami Kirkpatrick - Bucky, one of Lou and Penny's kids
* Shane Baumel - Spike, one of Lou and Penny's kids
* Madison Davenport - Quillo, one of Lou and Penny's kids
* [[Brian Stepanek]] - Nugent the [[Dog]]
* [[Omid Djalili]] - Tiger the [[Persian (cat)|Persian]]
* Zoe Randol - Mackenzie
* [[Jessica Di Cicco]] - Shelby
* [[Debra Wilson]] - Debbie
* Sean Bishop - Police Officer
* Jeannie Elias - Janis
* Kejon Kesse - Timmy
* Paul Butcher - Skeeter
* [[Sean Yazbeck]] - BBQ Barry
* Geoffrey Pomeroy - Ranger
* Joel McCrary - Dr. Dennis
* [[Lee Bienstock]] - Lunch Table Larry
* Additional Voices by [[Steve Alterman]], [[Kirk Bailey]], [[Jessie Flower]], [[Nicholas Guest]], [[David Hiller]], [[Bridget Hoffman]], [[Sandy Holt]], [[Talula Holt]], [[Erin Lander]], [[Jordan Orr]], [[Michelle Ruff]], [[Greyson Spann]], [[Marcelo Tubert]], [[Ariel Winter]]

==Crew==
* Directed by [[Tim Johnson]] and [[Karey Kirkpatrick]]
* Produced by [[Bonnie Arnold]]
* Executive producer [[Bill Damaschke]]
* Screenplay by [[Len Blum]] and [[Lorne Cameron]] & [[David Hoselton]] and [[Karey Kirkpatrick]]
* Music by [[Rupert Gregson-Williams]]
* Songs by [[Ben Folds]]

==Reception==
The film's opening weekend grossed $38,457,003 in 4,093 theaters. As of July 19, 2006, the film had earned $239,307,057 worldwide.<ref>[http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=overthehedge.htm Box Office Mojo: ''Over the Hedge'']</ref>
Critical reaction was mostly positive with the film being rated 75% on the [[Rotten Tomatoes]] movie review aggregate site. Critic [[Frank Lovece]] of ''Film Journal International'' found that, "DreamWorks' slapstick animated adaptation of the philosophically satiric comic strip ... is a lot of laughs and boasts a much tighter story than most animated features"<ref>[http://filmjournal.com/filmjournal/reviews/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002539020 ''Film Journal Internationl'': ''Over the Hedge'' review by Frank Lovece]</ref> Ken Fox of ''[[TV Guide|TVGuide.com]]'' called it "a sly satire of American 'enough is never enough' consumerism and blind progress at the expense of the environment. It's also very funny, and the little woodland critters that make up the cast are a kiddie-pleasing bunch".<ref>[http://online.tvguide.com/newsearch/detail.aspx?id=46819&sourcetype=m&progseriesparentid=0&tvobjectid=0&keyword=&more=ucmoviereview TV Guide Online ''Over the Hedge'' review by Ken Fox]</ref> Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper of "Ebert & Roeper" gave the animated movie a "two thumbs up". <ref>[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060518/REVIEWS/60509002/1023 RogerEbert.com: ''Chicago Sun-Times'' (May 19, 2006): ''Over the Hedge'' review by Roger Ebert]</ref> <ref>[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/author-3822/?letter=o&cats=1%2C+2%2C+3%2C+4%2C+5%2C+7%2C+8%2C+29%2C+12%2C+13%2C+14%2C+16%2C+17%2C+18%2C+19%2C+20%2C+21%2C+22%2C+24%2C+23%2C+26%2C+27&genreid=&switches=# Rottentomatoes.com: Richard Roeper]</ref> [[Michael Medved]] gave ''Over the Hedge'' three stars (out of four) saying even though "..the P.C. messages that families come in all shapes and sizes is a bit gratuitous and heavy-handed..", overall he found the movie "..surprisingly satisfying..".<ref> [http://www.townhall.com/TalkRadio/Show.aspx?ContentGuid=bc60d434-3670-4284-973a-30fb02b1fffe&RadioShowId=4]</ref>
Jeffery Katzenberg is considering making a sequel to the movie, due to its success and the maker's love of the characters.

==Animals featured==
*[[Raccoon]] (RJ)
*[[Box Turtle]] (Verne)
*[[European Red Squirrel]] (Hammy)
*[[Striped Skunk]] (Stella)
*[[North American Porcupine]] (Penny, Lou, Bucky, Quillo and Spike)
*[[Virginia Opossum]] (Ozzie and Heather)
*[[Black Bear]] (Vincent)
*[[Firefly]] (Seen above RJ's head twice and once above Verne's head, resembling the [[lightbulb gag]] in cartoons)
*[[Bee]] (Used by Hammy to make [[honey]] on a piece of [[wood]], mentioned in the upcoming ''Bee Movie'', an animated film set for November 2007)
*[[Dragonfly]] (Seen caught in [[bug zapper]])
*[[Dog]] (Nugent)
*[[Cat]] (Tiger)
*[[Human]] (Gladys, Verminator, and various others)

==Trivia==
{{toomuchtrivia}}
===General===
*This film has very strong evidence that the movie takes place in American state of [[Indiana]]. In one scene as Verne is on a toy car being driven during his first encounter of the suburb, one home has an [[Indianapolis Colts]] banner, plus in another scene right after the impact of the illegal machine and Vincent the bear and other humans it subsequently shows the impace fomr space indicating somewhere in the Indianapolis area. And finally, many of the human characters in the film and Verne the turtle have Midwestern Indiana accents. Although, in one line spoken by Dwayne LaFontant (the Verminator), he says that a trap he sold to the suburban family is "illegal in every state except [[Texas]]".
*Ozzie the possum is refered to once as 'The Oz-man' The three porcupines then salute with 'the horns'. A clear reference to Black Sabbath frontman Ozzie Osbourne,
*Some retail chains offered different promotional items with purchase of the DVD. [[Target Corporation|Target]]: Bonus full length CD called "Rockin Rj's From Suburbia," [[Best Buy]]: Bonus book of the comic strips called "Stuffed Animals," [[Wal-Mart]]: Bonus DVD called "Hammy's Nutty-Fun DVD," [[K-Mart]]: Hammy Plush. [[Blockbuster Video]]: Included an exclusive metal tin for storing the DVD Case.
*The film was originally announced for a November 2005 release.
*[[Ben Folds]] re-wrote the lyrics to the closing song "[[Rockin' the Suburbs (song)|Rockin' the Suburbs]]", replacing the teenage [[angst]] and [[nu metal]] parodies with a more child-friendly attack on Suburbia. This version also features a spoken part by [[William Shatner]], who plays Ozzie in the film. [http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/review.php?id=1200]
*The film is the first from DreamWorks Animation SKG to be based on a comic strip.
*Pan-Asian star [[BoA]] will debut in the big screen as the voice of Heather in the [[Korean language|Korean]] and [[Japanese language|Japanese]]-dubbed versions of the movie.
*Pop star [[Avril Lavigne]] debuts in her first film role playing a character and not herself.
*[[Jim Carrey]] was originally announced to voice RJ.
*The movie was banned in [[People's Republic of China|China]], because of its "deception of free world". {{fact}} 
*The stackable potato chips branded Spuddies in the film is a spoof of [[Pringles]] chips. In an early trailer, the chip brand was known as Jingles and featured the Pringles logo with a [[court jester]]'s cap on.
*The film has certain similarities to the [[Isao Takahata]] movie ''[[Pom Poko]]''. ''Over the Hedge'' does not, however, develop the themes of environmentalism or anti-urbanization, and focuses on the animals' harmless preying on the bumbling humans, making the similarities between the two films contextual rather than substantive. As the critic for ''Film Journal International'' suggested (link under "References"), a closer comparison might be to [[Meredith Willson]]'s ''[[The Music Man]]'', which also centers on a slick con artist redeemed by his marks, and finding a surrogate family. The commentary track on the DVD confirms that the movie version of RJ (right down to his habit of carrying a bag) was partially inspired by Professor Harold Hill.
*After winning a [[Wal-Mart]] and [[Microsoft]] [[Xbox 360]] task on ''[[The Apprentice 5]]'', eventual Final Two [[Sean Yazbeck]] (eventual winner) and [[Lee Bienstock]] (You're Fired #17) have cameos in the film as BBQ Barry and Lunchtable Larry.
*Among the TV series spoofed in the scene of RJ. flipping TV channels in the forest are ''[[Dr. Phil (TV series)|Dr. Phil]]'' and ''[[All My Children]]''.
* After the TV parody scene, RJ can be seen huffing out of a bag of OH-NO's brand chips to quell his anxiety. "OH NOES!" is a sarcastic expression of despair in [[List of Internet slang|internet slang]]. This also makes fun of the names of numerous [[Frito-Lay]] chip products, such as [[Cheetos]], [[Doritos]] and [[Fritos]].
*During the scene where Ozzie plays dead, he spies a rose bush and mutters, "Rosebud". That is a reference to ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' in which Charles Foster Kane mutters a cryptic "Rosebud" before he passes away.
*Nugnet is actually not named in this film.
*When Verne the turtle is in his shell, he has a short, stubby tail. However, when out of his shell, he has human-style buttocks. This continuity flub is necessitated by two sight-gags involving buttocks, as well as dialogue referencing the tail.
*The logo of Dwayne LaFontaine, the Verminator's pest and vermin control company, featuring a man resembling himself hitting a rabbit with a hammer, is a spoof of a pest control company in [[California]], [[Nevada]], and [[Arizona]]; namely one Western Extermination Company, whose logo features a man named Kernel Kleenup with a top hat and suit about to squash a rat with his hammer.[http://www.west-ext.com/little_man.html]
*During the rolling end credits, the ''Over the Hedge'' comic strip can be seen three times - once, the porcupine kids are being taught to read with one; Hammy paints a portrait of RJ and Verne in the style of the strip, and finally, RJ shows three panels of a strip, and Vern, reluctantly, displays the final frame on his back. Also during the credits, Hammy references [[Khan Noonien Singh]]'s plot against [[James T. Kirk|Captain Kirk]] in ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'' (which was also distributed by Paramount Pictures and also stars [[William Shatner]], as Kirk).
*The child who plays one of the porcupine triplets, Bucky, is Sami Kirkpatrick, the son of Karey Kirkpatrick, one of the directors of the film.
*Both Eugene Levy (Lou) and Catherine O'Hara (Penny) were once regulars on ''[[Second City Television|SCTV]]''.
*The infamous [[THX]] [[Deep Note]] is used in a scene late in the film, and the famous "The usual, sir?" [[Maxell]] commercial is parodied as well. Also noted is that the movie itself is [[THX]] enchanced. {{check}}
*The first DreamWorks film to be distributed by [[Paramount Pictures]], due to the fact that it purchased DreamWorks in 2005. The last DreamWorks movie to be distributed by themselves was ''[[She's the Man]]'', which was made before the purchase.
*In the scene where the animals are in the hedge and Dwayne is shooting his ray into the hedge, it is a parody of 2005's movie adaptation of ''[[War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds]]'' (a Paramount/DreamWorks co-production) when the tripods are firing the heat-rays onto the street.
*In this film, Thomas Hayden Church plays an exterminator. In another animated summer release of 2006, ''[[The Ant Bully]]'', [[Paul Giamatti]] plays an exterminator. Both actors had leading roles in the film ''[[Sideways]]''.
*The CD in RJ's golf bag says "[[John Tesh]]". In red ink, it's listed as being worth 10 cents.
*In the sequence parodying [[Girl Scout cookie]] delivery, RJ mentions several varieties: "Love Handles, Skinny Mints, Neener Neeners, and Smackaroons!" The DVD release also contains images of several other "Trail Guide Gals" cookie varieties: Piggy Backs, Red Rovers, and Too-Da-Loos.
*Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara (Lou and Penny) also played a married couple in ''[[Best in Show (film)|Best in Show]]'' and in the animated TV series adaptation of Over the Hedge comic strip co-creator Michael Fry's comic panel, "Committed."
*As Stella runs away from Tiger during the chaotic escape scene from Gladys's home, he cries "Stella, Stella!", a clear reference to [[Marlon Brando]]s famous line from ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]''.
*Both ''[[Hoodwinked]]'' and ''Over the Hedge'' feature a hyperactive squirrel who climactically drinks a caffeinated beverage to save the day.
*RJ makes a reference to [[Doritos]] in this film when he introduces animals to the chip, then saying, "Nacho Cheese Flavored". Nacho Cheese happens to be a flavor of Doritos.
*In the beginning of the movie the Hedge is called 'Steve' by Hammy during his first encounter of the Hedge. This is a direct take from the comic strip in which the character says the same thing and also [[Steve Carrell]] is the actor that voices Hammy.
*The scene where Hammy drinks the caffeine is very similar to the movie ''[[Clockstoppers]]''.

===Inaccuracies===
*[[Turtle]]s can't take their shells off. However, during the film, it is strongly implied Verne's shell is damaged, which is why it is removable. (RJ comments after using it to trick Vincent, "Don't you ever get this shell fixed!")
*[[Squirrel|Tree squirrels]], [[wikipedia:porcupine|North American porcupine]]s, [[skunk]]s, and [[opossum|Virginia opossum]]s don't hibernate.
*Modern-day turtles don't have teeth, like their ancient ancestors did.
*The movie features both visible and invisible [[wikipedia:laser|lasers]] in the same location.
*Turtles don't have buttocks, like a [[human]].
*raccoons and skunks are [[wikipedia:nocturnal|nocturnal]].

==See also==
*[[Wikipedia:List of Over the Hedge characters|List of Over the Hedge characters]]
*[[Wikipedia:Over the Hedge (Music from the Motion Picture)|Over the Hedge (Music from the Motion Picture)]]
*[[Wikipedia:Over the Hedge (video game)|Over the Hedge (video game)]]

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*[http://www.overthehedgemovie.com/ Official site]
*{{imdb title|id=0327084|title=Over the Hedge}}
*{{rotten-tomatoes|id=over_the_hedge|title=Over the Hedge}}
* [http://star-talk-live-interview-archive.blogspot.com/2006/05/interview-bruce-willis-wanda-sykes.html Interivews: Bruce Willis and Wanda Sykes]

==External links==
*[http://www.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/overthehedge/ Over the Hedge Trailers](Apple Quicktime) [http://www.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/overthehedge/hd/ (HD)]
{{wikipedia|Over the Hedge (film)}}

Goblin Hollow

2007-04-16T22:37:03Z

Madd the Sane:

{{Infobox webcomic
| title = Goblin Hollow
| image = [[Image:Bnbutton.gif]]
| caption =
| author = [[Ralph Hayes, Jr.]]
| url = http://www.rhjunior.com/GH/Index.html
| status = Mondays(?)
| began = 2000
| ended = Ongoing
| genre = ?
| rating = [[Image:Censor_panda_nyr_button.png]]
}}

'''''Goblin Hollow''''' (formerly known as '''''Under the Lemon Tree''''') is a comic created by [[Ralph Hayes, Jr.]], who also produces several other [[webcomics]].

== Premise ==
{{spoiler}}
The comic centers around Ben Bruin, who arrives home one day from his job at the "''Bullseye''" department store to discover he now shares his home with six posse-tulpas, plus later a seventh, small characters each of whom represents an aspect of his personality that he had repressed. They are not usually visible to anyone except Ben and a select few others (including Lily Feldspar, for that matter), but they are able to wreak havoc on Ben's life until he learns to deal with them.

One of Ben's co-workers, Lily Feldspar, soon becomes his girlfriend and the only other person who knows about the tulpas and can see them on a regular basis. Eventually, Ben and Lily get married. After Ben loses his job at Bullseye, they buy an old haunted house and convert it into a video arcade.

''Note: The strip archives prior to the opening of the arcade are currently unavailable.''

==Characters==

====Main characters====
*Ben Bruin
[[Image:Lily Feldspar.png|right|frame|75px|Lily Bruin]]
*Lily Bruin - Ben Bruin's mate
*Penny Feldspar - Lily's little sister

====Secondary characters====
[[Image:Fred Rabbit.png|right|frame|75px|Fred Rabbit]]
*Fred Rabbit

*Merry Beaver - Another of the "''Goblin Hollow''" employees, Merry was also a fellow worker with Ben at the "''Bullseye''" department store, where she worked as one of the clerk staff, despite being the niece of their employer, "Boss" Beaver. She's dating the "''Bullseye''"former janitor, Rico Chihuahua|Rico]]. Though Merry can be bit of a softspoken knucklehead, she can find her share of backbone when the going gets tough on the job.

*Rico Chihuahua - The last of the "''Goblin Hollow''" employees quartet, and Merry Beaver's boyfriend

====Incidental characters====
[[Image:Beltane.png|right|frame|75px|Beltane]]
*Beltane
*Roz Poodle
*"Boss" Beaver

{{comic-stub}}

[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:2000 births]]

Nip and Tuck

2007-04-16T22:34:57Z

Madd the Sane: added comic infobox

{{Infobox webcomic
| title = Tales of the Questor
| image = [[Image:Ntbutton.gif]]
| caption =
| author = [[Ralph Hayes, Jr.]]
| url = http://www.rhjunior.com/NT/
| status = Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
| began = October 2000
| ended = Ongoing
| genre = [[Fantasy]]
| rating = [[Image:Censor_PG_button.png]][[Category:Rated PG]]
}}

'''Nip and Tuck''' is a webcomic created by [[Ralph Hayes, Jr.]] which follows the adventures of a pair of rural foxes called Nip and Tuck. Not to be confused by the FX television drama [[wikipedia:Nip/Tuck | Nip/Tuck]].

Nip and Tuck Todd are twin fox brothers from [[Malarkey County]], an unspecified location in the southern United States. They are the central characters in a continuing comic strip that revolves around them, their friends and their adventures.

Arguably the most political of [[Ralph Hayes, Jr.|Ralph Hayes Junior]]'s three strips (the other two being [[Tales of the Questor]] and [[Goblin Hollow]]), much of the strip is imbibed with the author's political views as an American Conservative. The strip also contains much to demolish the traditional stereotypes of Southern rural folk, often containing jokes at the expense of liberals and Democrats, personified in this strip by [[Gilly Gopher]], the resident village idiot.

Other notable characters include [[Tagger]], a mischievous, intelligent and business minded ten-year old beaver, [[Lucy Todd|Lucy]] and [[Roy Todd]] (Nip and Tuck's parents), [[Gus Gunthrie]] (as much of a villain as the strip has, he's a boorish, drunken jerk), [[Pop Otto]] and the [[Pop's Auto Girls]] (three beautiful women cut from the Daisy Duke cloth), Big Malarkey (the Malarkey County lake monster), [[Thelma Possum]] (Tuck's girlfriend), [[Lil Bit]] (cute little bunny girl, out of the MANY brood children of [[Mr. & Mrs. Lapine]]), [[Schlep]] (the Arabic camel owner of the local Speedy Mart), [[Gus]] (not to be confused with [[Gus Gunthrie]], is an old codger of a turtle) and other characters who pop in (sometimes commissioned by patrons).

The strip is largely episodic in nature, though the length of each particular storyline varies greatly.

== See also ==

* [[:Category:Nip and Tuck characters|Nip and Tuck characters]]

[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:Red Fox characters]]

Tales of the Questor 2005-2006

2007-04-16T22:22:28Z

Madd the Sane: added some info

This page contains a plot synopsis of the webcomic '''[[Tales of the Questor]]''' from 2005 to 2006. For the plot synopsis of the years 2001-2004, please see [[Tales of the Questor 2001-2004]].

{{spoiler}}

===2005===

With the recent revelation, Quentyn uses fire to kill several Wights and drive out the rest. With the Millfolk's arrival, and the realization that the rats were real, they retreat to the Dining Hall.

Using the book as a resource, Quentyn figures out how to destroy the Wights. Because they sense and feed on Lux, he has to be the one to go since he's the weakest mage there. Using Squidge as a guide, Quentyn travels down into the sewer and finds a door to the lab of one Rosad Athair Beither, the "evilest Rac Conan ever" - a monster hunter turned mad scientist who lived centuries ago.

After sending Squidge back with a message, Quentyn goes in alone and discovers a Rat King, five rats bound together by their tails. They are the source and controller of the Wights. They create more Wights and trap Quentyn. His body would provide sufficient food to allow the Rat King to produce enough shadow rats to overrun the city.

In a last ditch effort, Quentyn heroically hurls himself through the Wights massed in front of him, and though bleeding profusely, manages to kill the Rat King and destroy the Wights.

He nearly dies from blood loss and injuries. He has a near death experience in which he comes before Yeshua and believes himself a sinner who threw his life away. Yeshua believes otherwise but tells Quentyn that it is not his time. The White Stag licks Quentyn and he wakes up to find Squidge biting him in order to make him stay awake and seek help.

Quentyn finds a ladder up to the surface and collapses before a patrol. He's taken to the hospital where everyone piles in to see him when he wakes up: Nessie, Emmett, the Millfolks, his parents, and a guardsman.

Nessie, it turns out, was the one who found Quentyn. Her Kenning abilities alerted her to the Wights and to where Quentyn was. Speaking to Quentyn and Emmet alone, the guard informs Quentyn that the Council and the Guard want Quentyn to play down what Quentyn saw in the lab.

Quentyn and Emmet are told that Rosad Beither had disciples, and that the Council didn't want to risk a panic by revealing that. Emmet and Quentyn are unhappy and think that lying to the people is wrong, but have not disputed the official story put out about the Wights. At least not yet.

Quentyn also confronts the Millfolks about the doctor who advised Lady Millfolk not to go to Colin, and gives his own advice to the Millfolks, earning the ire of Lady Millfolks' mother-in-law. Colin's Night Terrors are cured, the Brownies return and adopt Quentyn into their tribe. Then Quentyn gets news about his sword.

The sword may have the most unique Lux pattern in the world, and it contains eight new runes, which look startlingly familiar to [[wikipedia:logic gate|logic gates]] used in microprocessors. He learns that the sword is indeed bonded to him until the day he dies, so that only he can use it. While he can't control what it does, he can remove the Sales Pitch Spell by naming the sword. He appropriately names it Wildcard.

We also learn from Kestrel that her and Quentyn's friend '''Fen''' is obsessed with trying to catch a Fae song by sitting in a Fae Rath (Fairy Ring).

Quentyn prepares to return home. However, as he's buying a ticket back, his pack, in which he has stowed Wildcard, is stolen from him. The thief gets away with Quentyn's most prized possession. The thief, who wore a purple scarf, did so as an initiation to a gang called the Royals, all of their members wear purple. The thief is accepted when Wildcard is handed over.

Quentyn agonizes over what to do and finally decides to go "undercover" to get his sword back. Squidge, who stowed away in his money pouch, helps Quentyn get in touch with the Brownies, who agree to help him look for the sword.

As they're doing this, Quentyn first sends a message to his parents saying that his homecoming will be delayed; he then goes into a tavern in order to find information about the gang that robbed him.

During a chess game, he learns that the Royals, whose color matches that of the scarf that the thief wore, run the high alleys; he goes there in order to spy on them. His early attempts end up landing him in jail until Squidge pays bail. Quentyn is no closer to the Royals.

He instead chooses to spy on them from above which presents different troubles, including angry citizens with guns and crashing through the roof of someone's home, once again landing him in jail. He pays bail again, but this time is informed by the officer who arrested him both times, one Officer Mulharney, that he'll be keeping a close eye on Quentyn.

Desperate and not thinking clearly due to the separation anxiety he feels over the loss of Wildcard, Quentyn abandons all pretense at subtlety and wanders from tavern to tavern in the Tumbledowns, asking about the Royals. In one such locale he gets an answer in the form of a rival gang: the Red Caps. They throw him out of the bar, thinking him a spy for their rivals.

They strip his shirt off him, hoping to verify this through whatever gang tattoos, brands, or marks he might had. That Quentyn has none proves that he is not a spy nor a member of any gang.

However the Red Caps decide that they don't like "no-names" any more than they do enemy gangs so they decide to "mess him up." Quentyn uses his glimmer rope (which he was wearing as a belt) in order to climb up a wall and escape, with the Red Caps in hot pursuit.

After a frantic chase through the Tumbledowns, Quentyn discovers the large wall that separates the Tumbledowns from the Good Neighborhoods and finds a small crack in it he can climb through. As he's crawling through the Red Caps catch up with him and attempt to pull him back in since they're too big to fit through and the wall's too high to climb. While they fail to keep hold of Quentyn, they do succeed in ripping his pants off, leaving Quentyn naked on the other side of the wall in a affluent gated community called Silvergate.

Quentyn sneaks into a large household having a party in the hopes of snatching something he can use for clothes. Meribeth, the barmaiden from Freeman Downs, is inside; her great aunt Rubey is hosting the gala. Quentyn, meanwhile, sneaks into a broom closet and in the process overhears a conversation regarding two men who may be behind the gang troubles in Sanctuary. However, an incoming servant cuts his listening short and he's forced to flee down a hall. Tripping over a mop, he finds himself on stage in front of everyone, still naked, and mistaken for a Bard.

Quentyn freaks out after seeing Meribeth in the crowd and throws a potted plant out the window, through which he escapes. He is then seen in prison. We hear that he was arrested after running from several guards, including two females. The Adjudicator dismisses the numerous charges against Quentyn--disturbing the peace, resisting arrest, public indecency, et al--as he thinks that Quentyn has suffered enough.

Quentyn is released and, once again clothed, pounds the streets of the Tumbledowns, furious at his humiliation and lack of success. He then stumbles upon a trio of Red Caps beating up a kit with a purple hat - the Royals' insignia. By a combination of skill and luck, he and Squidge knock out the Red Caps. When Quentyn tries to escape with the kit he is stopped by one of the guards (Mulharney again), and is so frustrated at being caught again that he kicks the guard in the groin.

Grateful for his rescue and amused at seeing the guard beaten up, the kit invites Quentyn back to the Royals' hideout where he can lie low for a while. Quentyn is amazed at his luck, but is less happy when the kit tells him to leave Squidge behind because the Royals' leader believes all small fae, or "grubbers" as he calls them, are spies for the guards.

Quentyn arrives at the Royals' hideout and is allowed to stay. A party is thrown when they hear of his injuring Mulharney and in the course of the party all of the Royals get either drunk or high and consequently fall asleep, allowing Quentyn to look for and ultimately find his sword. However, it is highly guarded by various Lux-powered wards. The kit Quentyn had rescued discovers him staring at his sword and admonishes him for such a risky move. The kit also reveals that he was the one who had stolen Wildcard from Quentyn.

Two days later, an unknown buyer appears. He demands that all grunt Royals leave the hideout, but Quentyn manages to sneak back in. The buyer notices the sword and the fact that it isn't properly warded, but gives up all apparent interest when the Royals leader, Viktor, claims it as a trophy. The exchange complete, the buyer leaves the hideout. A conversation between he and his partner implies that they are the two men who Quentyn overheard conspiring [http://npc.comicgenesis.com/d/20050805.html here.]

A Royal discovers Quentyn in his hiding place, who jumps through a hole in the floor and promptly sprains his ankle. He is captured and brought before Viktor. One of the females recognizes Quentyn as a Questor. Due to this, Viktor and the others decide to give Quentyn the beating of a lifetime, abandoning his battered body in a trashbin. Coincidentally, Squidge had been hiding in the bin. Quentyn vehemently swears to get his sword back.

After quite a bit of preparation, Quentyn lures the Redcaps straight into the Royals hideout, thus sparking a massive brawl. He subsequently uses some poppers to scare a couple of tree apes into demolishing the Royals hideout. As the gang members stumble out of the ruins, Quentyn activates another of his tricks, unleashing a tremendous charge of lux within a matter of seconds. This disables all lux-powered items within a hundred yards, including the wards and lux tappers surrounding Wildcard. The connection restored, Quentyn summons Wildcard back to his hand.

At that moment, the City Guard appears and takes everyone prisoner. Quentyn is released in a matter of hours, but not before a conversation with several of the higher-ups of Sanctuary City. All charges against Quentyn are dropped, much to the dismay of Mulharney. Just as the elders begin to formulate a grand conspiracy theory regarding the human coins found at the gang hideouts, Quentyn deflates the theory by pointing out that the coins are counterfeit.

As he is about to leave the police station, Squidge says that he managed to get someone from Freeman Downs to pay for his legal fees - Meribeth. Viktor, in a nearby cell, spouts various threats at Quentyn until he forcefully shuts him up and reciprocates with the threats. In true Quentyn fashion, however, he throws up as soon as he exits the station.

Meribeth follows Quentyn outside to console him and reveals that back when Quentyn and his friends got drunk for the first time, they hadn't been drinking blackberry sherry, but blackberry brandy - a much more potent drink. As it turns out, Meribeth had mixed up the bottles, which is why she felt that she owed Quentyn a favor.

In a dark room, Mulharney speaks to a figure obscured by the darkness. Through his conversation with the man, Mulharney reveals that while the coins were indeed counterfeit, the conspiracy theory was most certainly not. Mulharney also reveals the shady figure as one of the elders present at Quentyn's police station debriefing and that, as he already knew Quentyn ([http://npc.comicgenesis.com/d/20050325.html He is the city guard depicted here.]), Mulharney had actually helped Quentyn along his quest through his actions. While Mulharney knows that he can do little to expose this plot, he leaves the shady figure with a warning that future endeavors of the sort will not fare as well.

Once at home, Quentyn is summoned before the council. Gilder, as expected, is absolutely outraged and in the middle of a fierce diatribe when a message from the Sanctuary City council arrives, absolving Quentyn of all criminal charges. However, the board still votes to censure Quentyn for his rash actions.

Quentyn angrily tromps home. In a nearby bar, Rahan and his cohorts poke fun at him from afar until Meribeth comes by and calmly rebukes his accusers.

===2006===

Fearing parental retribution for his actions, Quentyn enters his home through the kitchen door, where he finds Squidge happily eating a pie. Squidge reveals that he had sought out Quentyn's parents beforehand and told them everything about his Sanctuary City exploits. Quentyn fearfully steps into the living room, asking his parents to hear him out. However, his parents burst into laughter instead of admonishing their child.

At Gilder's house, Gilder continues to vent about the Questor situation to his wife, claiming that this anachronistic behavior will only lead to ruin for the town.

Quentyn visits Rilcreek, who explains to him why he voted for censure: firstly, to play politics and maintain his influence in the council, secondly, to ensure that no harsher punishments would be suggested, and finally, to express genuine disapproval of Quentyn's actions. Unexpectedly, what Rilcreek took offense to was not Quentyn's actions, but rather his weak defense of said actions. To that end, Rilcreek gives Quentyn a Questor journal to ensure that Quentyn's account of the actions appears in the news scrips first.

Reading angry letters from people who had read the erroneous and sensationalized news scrip accounts, demanding retractions and corrections from the news scrips, and recovering from Rahan's pranks take up much of Quentyn's time in the subsequent weeks.

One night, Quentyn receives a letter from the council allowing for the removal of his censure if he agreed to several very limiting requirements and what turns out to be the journal of a former Questor of Freeman Downs.

Exercising his Questor powers, Quentyn summons an elder council meeting in the middle of the night. He reads out loud a passage from the journal of the former Questor, who is revealed as the first Quentyn the Questor. He then proceeds to harshly rebuke the council's actions; the council revokes the censure two days later.

With Squidge's help, Quentyn also puts an end to Rahan's pranks, forcing Rahan's family to pay considerable damages. The arc ends with Quentyn happily gloating about his revenge.

In "A Brief Interlude," a few unfortunate Rac Conans find themselves careening wildly through a field as they try to control their wind-powered lev-carriage. In the words of a traditional lev-carriage driver, "That ... is why you don't see no sail-powered lev-carriages."

In yet another “Meanwhile...” Fen is discovered sleeping in the Fae Rath again. As Fen shuffles off to bed, his teacher expresses concern over his obsession with the Rath. The comic flashes back to a few months prior, revealing the root of Fen’s obsession with the Rath - he wishes to become a living legend by retrieving a whole song from the Elsewhere.

Eventually, one of the teachers forces Fen to take some time off from school and the Fae Rath, as his grades have begun to slip due to his spending every available hour in the Rath. As he spends the free days sulking, the teacher enlists Kestrel’s help. Kestrel, with the help of a rebuilt golem, drags Fen away from his room and into the glorious outdoors. She realizes that Fen wants to use the Fae Rath as a fast track to success.

Kestrel discovers that Rath had created his own Fae Rath. It is later revealed that he had heard a song in the Fae Rath and stood idly by, listening instead of recording. Ever since then, he has been trying to catch another song, but has been unable to hear one.

''To be continued as the comic develops further''.

==Books==
The first two compilations of Questor comics are available to buyers on [[Wikipedia:Lulu.com|Lulu]]. Volume 1 is 223 pages long, and costs $41.99. Volume 2 is 170 pages long, priced at $39.99.

==External links==
*[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/Index.html Tales of the Questor website]
*[http://forums.keenspace.com/viewforum.php?forum=527 old Tales of the Questor forums]
*[http://www.rhjunior.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=5b162c89d2dd0151b191cff77ed6f0d6 new Tales of the Questor forums]
*[http://people.lulu.com/users/index.php?fHomepage=135246 Tales of the Questor, print editions]

[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:2001 births]]
{{Wikipedia|Tales of the Questor}}

Tales of the Questor 2005-2006

2007-04-16T18:29:36Z

Madd the Sane: /* 2006 */

This page contains a plot synopsis of the webcomic '''[[Tales of the Questor]]''' from 2005 to 2006. For the plot synopsis of the years 2001-2004, please see [[Tales of the Questor 2001-2004]].

{{spoiler}}

===2005===

With the recent revelation, Quentyn uses fire to kill several Wights and drive out the rest. With the Millfolk's arrival, and the realization that the rats were real, they retreat to the Dining Hall.

Using the book as a resource, Quentyn figures out how to destroy the Wights. Because they sense and feed on Lux, he has to be the one to go since he's the weakest mage there. Using Squidge as a guide, Quentyn travels down into the sewer and finds a door to the lab of one Rosad Athair Beither, the "evilest Rac Conan ever" - a monster hunter turned mad scientist who lived centuries ago.

After sending Squidge back with a message, Quentyn goes in alone and discovers a Rat King, five rats bound together by their tails. They are the source and controller of the Wights. They create more Wights and trap Quentyn. His body would provide sufficient food to allow the Rat King to produce enough shadow rats to overrun the city.

In a last ditch effort, Quentyn heroically hurls himself through the Wights massed in front of him, and though bleeding profusely, manages to kill the Rat King and destroy the Wights.

He nearly dies from blood loss and injuries. He has a near death experience in which he comes before Yeshua and believes himself a sinner who threw his life away. Yeshua believes otherwise but tells Quentyn that it is not his time. The White Stag licks Quentyn and he wakes up to find Squidge biting him in order to make him stay awake and seek help.

Quentyn finds a ladder up to the surface and collapses before a patrol. He's taken to the hospital where everyone piles in to see him when he wakes up: Nessie, Emmett, the Millfolks, his parents, and a guardsman.

Nessie, it turns out, was the one who found Quentyn. Her Kenning abilities alerted her to the Wights and to where Quentyn was. Speaking to Quentyn and Emmet alone, the guard informs Quentyn that the Council and the Guard want Quentyn to play down what Quentyn saw in the lab.

Quentyn and Emmet are told that Rosad Beither had disciples, and that the Council didn't want to risk a panic by revealing that. Emmet and Quentyn are unhappy and think that lying to the people is wrong, but have not disputed the official story put out about the Wights. At least not yet.

Quentyn also confronts the Millfolks about the doctor who advised Lady Millfolk not to go to Colin, and gives his own advice to the Millfolks, earning the ire of Lady Millfolks' mother-in-law. Colin's Night Terrors are cured, the Brownies return and adopt Quentyn into their tribe. Then Quentyn gets news about his sword.

The sword may have the most unique Lux pattern in the world, and it contains eight new runes. He learns that it is indeed bonded to him until the day he dies, so that only he can use it. While he can't control what it does, he can remove the Sales Pitch Spell by naming the sword. He appropriately names it Wildcard.

We also learn from Kestrel that her and Quentyn's friend '''Fen''' is obsessed with trying to catch a Fae song by sitting in a Fae Rath (Fairy Ring).

Quentyn prepares to return home. However, as he's buying a ticket back, his pack, in which he has stowed Wildcard, is stolen from him. The thief gets away with Quentyn's most prized possession. The thief, who wore a purple scarf, did so as an initiation to a gang called the Royals, all of their members wear purple. The thief is accepted when Wildcard is handed over.

Quentyn agonizes over what to do and finally decides to go "undercover" to get his sword back. Squidge, who stowed away in his money pouch, helps Quentyn get in touch with the Brownies, who agree to help him look for the sword.

As they're doing this, Quentyn first sends a message to his parents saying that his homecoming will be delayed; he then goes into a tavern in order to find information about the gang that robbed him.

During a chess game, he learns that the Royals, whose color matches that of the scarf that the thief wore, run the high alleys; he goes there in order to spy on them. His early attempts end up landing him in jail until Squidge pays bail. Quentyn is no closer to the Royals.

He instead chooses to spy on them from above which presents different troubles, including angry citizens with guns and crashing through the roof of someone's home, once again landing him in jail. He pays bail again, but this time is informed by the officer who arrested him both times, one Officer Mulharney, that he'll be keeping a close eye on Quentyn.

Desperate and not thinking clearly due to the separation anxiety he feels over the loss of Wildcard, Quentyn abandons all pretense at subtlety and wanders from tavern to tavern in the Tumbledowns, asking about the Royals. In one such locale he gets an answer in the form of a rival gang: the Red Caps. They throw him out of the bar, thinking him a spy for their rivals.

They strip his shirt off him, hoping to verify this through whatever gang tattoos, brands, or marks he might had. That Quentyn has none proves that he is not a spy nor a member of any gang.

However the Red Caps decide that they don't like "no-names" any more than they do enemy gangs so they decide to "mess him up." Quentyn uses his glimmer rope (which he was wearing as a belt) in order to climb up a wall and escape, with the Red Caps in hot pursuit.

After a frantic chase through the Tumbledowns, Quentyn discovers the large wall that separates the Tumbledowns from the Good Neighborhoods and finds a small crack in it he can climb through. As he's crawling through the Red Caps catch up with him and attempt to pull him back in since they're too big to fit through and the wall's too high to climb. While they fail to keep hold of Quentyn, they do succeed in ripping his pants off, leaving Quentyn naked on the other side of the wall in a affluent gated community called Silvergate.

Quentyn sneaks into a large household having a party in the hopes of snatching something he can use for clothes. Meribeth, the barmaiden from Freeman Downs, is inside; her great aunt Rubey is hosting the gala. Quentyn, meanwhile, sneaks into a broom closet and in the process overhears a conversation regarding two men who may be behind the gang troubles in Sanctuary. However, an incoming servant cuts his listening short and he's forced to flee down a hall. Tripping over a mop, he finds himself on stage in front of everyone, still naked, and mistaken for a Bard.

Quentyn freaks out after seeing Meribeth in the crowd and throws a potted plant out the window, through which he escapes. He is then seen in prison. We hear that he was arrested after running from several guards, including two females. The Adjudicator dismisses the numerous charges against Quentyn--disturbing the peace, resisting arrest, public indecency, et al--as he thinks that Quentyn has suffered enough.

Quentyn is released and, once again clothed, pounds the streets of the Tumbledowns, furious at his humiliation and lack of success. He then stumbles upon a trio of Red Caps beating up a kit with a purple hat - the Royals' insignia. By a combination of skill and luck, he and Squidge knock out the Red Caps. When Quentyn tries to escape with the kit he is stopped by one of the guards (Mulharney again), and is so frustrated at being caught again that he kicks the guard in the groin.

Grateful for his rescue and amused at seeing the guard beaten up, the kit invites Quentyn back to the Royals' hideout where he can lie low for a while. Quentyn is amazed at his luck, but is less happy when the kit tells him to leave Squidge behind because the Royals' leader believes all small fae, or "grubbers" as he calls them, are spies for the guards.

Quentyn arrives at the Royals' hideout and is allowed to stay. A party is thrown when they hear of his injuring Mulharney and in the course of the party all of the Royals get either drunk or high and consequently fall asleep, allowing Quentyn to look for and ultimately find his sword. However, it is highly guarded by various Lux-powered wards. The kit Quentyn had rescued discovers him staring at his sword and admonishes him for such a risky move. The kit also reveals that he was the one who had stolen Wildcard from Quentyn.

Two days later, an unknown buyer appears. He demands that all grunt Royals leave the hideout, but Quentyn manages to sneak back in. The buyer notices the sword and the fact that it isn't properly warded, but gives up all apparent interest when the Royals leader, Viktor, claims it as a trophy. The exchange complete, the buyer leaves the hideout. A conversation between he and his partner implies that they are the two men who Quentyn overheard conspiring [http://npc.comicgenesis.com/d/20050805.html here.]

A Royal discovers Quentyn in his hiding place, who jumps through a hole in the floor and promptly sprains his ankle. He is captured and brought before Viktor. One of the females recognizes Quentyn as a Questor. Due to this, Viktor and the others decide to give Quentyn the beating of a lifetime, abandoning his battered body in a trashbin. Coincidentally, Squidge had been hiding in the bin. Quentyn vehemently swears to get his sword back.

After quite a bit of preparation, Quentyn lures the Redcaps straight into the Royals hideout, thus sparking a massive brawl. He subsequently uses some poppers to scare a couple of tree apes into demolishing the Royals hideout. As the gang members stumble out of the ruins, Quentyn activates another of his tricks, unleashing a tremendous charge of lux within a matter of seconds. This disables all lux-powered items within a hundred yards, including the wards and lux tappers surrounding Wildcard. The connection restored, Quentyn summons Wildcard back to his hand.

At that moment, the City Guard appears and takes everyone prisoner. Quentyn is released in a matter of hours, but not before a conversation with several of the higher-ups of Sanctuary City. All charges against Quentyn are dropped, much to the dismay of Mulharney. Just as the elders begin to formulate a grand conspiracy theory regarding the human coins found at the gang hideouts, Quentyn deflates the theory by pointing out that the coins are counterfeit.

As he is about to leave the police station, Squidge says that he managed to get someone from Freeman Downs to pay for his legal fees - Meribeth. Viktor, in a nearby cell, spouts various threats at Quentyn until he forcefully shuts him up and reciprocates with the threats. In true Quentyn fashion, however, he throws up as soon as he exits the station.

Meribeth follows Quentyn outside to console him and reveals that back when Quentyn and his friends got drunk for the first time, they hadn't been drinking blackberry sherry, but blackberry brandy - a much more potent drink. As it turns out, Meribeth had mixed up the bottles, which is why she felt that she owed Quentyn a favor.

In a dark room, Mulharney speaks to a figure obscured by the darkness. Through his conversation with the man, Mulharney reveals that while the coins were indeed counterfeit, the conspiracy theory was most certainly not. Mulharney also reveals the shady figure as one of the elders present at Quentyn's police station debriefing and that, as he already knew Quentyn ([http://npc.comicgenesis.com/d/20050325.html He is the city guard depicted here.]), Mulharney had actually helped Quentyn along his quest through his actions. While Mulharney knows that he can do little to expose this plot, he leaves the shady figure with a warning that future endeavors of the sort will not fare as well.

Once at home, Quentyn is summoned before the council. Gilder, as expected, is absolutely outraged and in the middle of a fierce diatribe when a message from the Sanctuary City council arrives, absolving Quentyn of all criminal charges. However, the board still votes to censure Quentyn for his rash actions.

Quentyn angrily tromps home. In a nearby bar, Rahan and his cohorts poke fun at him from afar until Meribeth comes by and calmly rebukes his accusers.

===2006===

Fearing parental retribution for his actions, Quentyn enters his home through the kitchen door, where he finds Squidge happily eating a pie. Squidge reveals that he had sought out Quentyn's parents beforehand and told them everything about his Sanctuary City exploits. Quentyn fearfully steps into the living room, asking his parents to hear him out. However, his parents burst into laughter instead of admonishing their child.

At Gilder's house, Gilder continues to vent about the Questor situation to his wife, claiming that this anachronistic behavior will only lead to ruin for the town.

Quentyn visits Rilcreek, who explains to him why he voted for censure: firstly, to play politics and maintain his influence in the council, secondly, to ensure that no harsher punishments would be suggested, and finally, to express genuine disapproval of Quentyn's actions. Unexpectedly, what Rilcreek took offense to was not Quentyn's actions, but rather his weak defense of said actions. To that end, Rilcreek gives Quentyn a Questor journal to ensure that Quentyn's account of the actions appears in the news scrips first.

Reading angry letters from people who had read the erroneous and sensationalized news scrip accounts, demanding retractions and corrections from the news scrips, and recovering from Rahan's pranks take up much of Quentyn's time in the subsequent weeks.

One night, Quentyn receives a letter from the council allowing for the removal of his censure if he agreed to several very limiting requirements and what turns out to be the journal of a former Questor of Freeman Downs.

Exercising his Questor powers, Quentyn summons an elder council meeting in the middle of the night. He reads out loud a passage from the journal of the former Questor, who is revealed as the first Quentyn the Questor. He then proceeds to harshly rebuke the council's actions; the council revokes the censure two days later.

With Squidge's help, Quentyn also puts an end to Rahan's pranks, forcing Rahan's family to pay considerable damages. The arc ends with Quentyn happily gloating about his revenge.

In "A Brief Interlude," a few unfortunate Rac Conans find themselves careening wildly through a field as they try to control their wind-powered lev-carriage. In the words of a traditional lev-carriage driver, "That ... is why you don't see no sail-powered lev-carriages."

In yet another “Meanwhile...” Fen is discovered sleeping in the Fae Rath again. As Fen shuffles off to bed, his teacher expresses concern over his obsession with the Rath. The comic flashes back to a few months prior, revealing the root of Fen’s obsession with the Rath - he wishes to become a living legend by retrieving a whole song from the Elsewhere.

Eventually, one of the teachers forces Fen to take some time off from school and the Fae Rath, as his grades have begun to slip due to his spending every available hour in the Rath. As he spends the free days sulking, the teacher enlists Kestrel’s help. Kestrel, with the help of a rebuilt golem, drags Fen away from his room and into the glorious outdoors. She realizes that Fen wants to use the Fae Rath as a fast track to success. It is later revealed that he had heard a song in the Fae Rath and stood idly by, listening instead of recording. Kestrel discovers that Rath had created his own Fae Rath.

''To be continued as the comic develops further''.

==Books==
The first two compilations of Questor comics are available to buyers on [[Wikipedia:Lulu.com|Lulu]]. Volume 1 is 223 pages long, and costs $41.99. Volume 2 is 170 pages long, priced at $39.99.

==External links==
*[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/Index.html Tales of the Questor website]
*[http://forums.keenspace.com/viewforum.php?forum=527 old Tales of the Questor forums]
*[http://www.rhjunior.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=5b162c89d2dd0151b191cff77ed6f0d6 new Tales of the Questor forums]
*[http://people.lulu.com/users/index.php?fHomepage=135246 Tales of the Questor, print editions]

[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:2001 births]]
{{Wikipedia|Tales of the Questor}}

Tales of the Questor

2007-04-16T18:17:03Z

Madd the Sane: oops

{{Infobox webcomic
| title = Tales of the Questor
| image = [[Image:Npcbutton.gif]]
| caption =
| author = [[Ralph Hayes, Jr.]]
| url = http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/Index.html
| status = Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
| began = November 2001
| ended = Ongoing
| genre = [[Fantasy]]
| rating = [[Image:Censor_PG_button.png]][[Category:Rated PG]]
}}
'''''Tales of the Questor''''' is a [[furry]] webcomic by [[Ralph Hayes, Jr.]], who is also the creator of ''[[Nip and Tuck]]'' and ''[[Goblin Hollow]]''.

[[Image:TotQ20051231-5.png|left|frame|Quentyn hesitates before returning home after the Tumbledowns fiasco]]
The comic tells the story of '''Quentyn''', a young 'Rac Conan Daimh' (a race of [[anthropomorphic]] [[raccoon]]s) who grows up as a farmer's son in the land of the Seven Villages, a place set in pseudo-medieval times. The Rac Conan Daimh wield a power called Lux which gives them magical abilities such as telekinesis. As a result of abusing this power and misunderstandings between them and the other races in their world, the Rac Conan Daimh have isolated themselves behind a wall of impenetrable mists and swamps. Quentyn has almost no Lux power himself, which leaves him in an awkward position in his community.

Enchanted by the stories he reads of the adventuresome Questors, and disenchanted by his own potentially dismal future, he aspires to live up to the heroism of the characters he idolizes. This is not immediately welcomed by his community, as they haven't needed anyone to fill the office of Questor for well over a century. However, he receives encouragement from a magical white stag who appears to him while he is contemplating his future. Armed with a malfunctioning magic sword - the result of drunkenly stumbling into a wizard's workshop one night - he goes off in search of his future.

Assisted by the wizard '''Rillcreek''' and his friend '''Kestrel''', he tries to figure out the nature of both his unpredictable weapon and his adventures.

==Plot synopsis==
Please see [[Tales of the Questor 2001-2004]] and [[Tales of the Questor 2005-2006]].

==Books==
The first two compilations of Questor comics are available to buyers on [[Wikipedia:Lulu.com|Lulu]]. Volume 1 is 223 pages long, and costs $41.99. It was awarded the 2005 [[Ursa Major Awards|Ursa Major Award]] for ''Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work''. Volume 2 is 170 pages long, priced at $39.99.

==External links==
*[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/Index.html Tales of the Questor website]
*[http://forums.keenspace.com/viewforum.php?forum=527 old Tales of the Questor forums]
*[http://www.rhjunior.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=5b162c89d2dd0151b191cff77ed6f0d6 new Tales of the Questor forums]
*[http://people.lulu.com/users/index.php?fHomepage=135246 Tales of the Questor, print editions]
*[http://newgrounds.com/portal/view/218174 "Tales of the Questors" Concept Compilation] by [[MalamiteLTD]]

[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:2001 births]]
{{Wikipedia|Tales of the Questor}}

Tales of the Questor

2007-04-16T18:16:35Z

Madd the Sane: added Webcomic infobox

{{Infobox webcomic
| title = Tales of the Questor
| image = [[Image:Npcbutton.gif]]
| caption = The DMFA logo, © Amber Williams, 2005
| author = [[Ralph Hayes, Jr.]]
| url = http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/Index.html
| status = Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
| began = November 2001
| ended = Ongoing
| genre = [[Fantasy]]
| rating = [[Image:Censor_PG_button.png]][[Category:Rated PG]]
}}
'''''Tales of the Questor''''' is a [[furry]] webcomic by [[Ralph Hayes, Jr.]], who is also the creator of ''[[Nip and Tuck]]'' and ''[[Goblin Hollow]]''.

[[Image:TotQ20051231-5.png|left|frame|Quentyn hesitates before returning home after the Tumbledowns fiasco]]
The comic tells the story of '''Quentyn''', a young 'Rac Conan Daimh' (a race of [[anthropomorphic]] [[raccoon]]s) who grows up as a farmer's son in the land of the Seven Villages, a place set in pseudo-medieval times. The Rac Conan Daimh wield a power called Lux which gives them magical abilities such as telekinesis. As a result of abusing this power and misunderstandings between them and the other races in their world, the Rac Conan Daimh have isolated themselves behind a wall of impenetrable mists and swamps. Quentyn has almost no Lux power himself, which leaves him in an awkward position in his community.

Enchanted by the stories he reads of the adventuresome Questors, and disenchanted by his own potentially dismal future, he aspires to live up to the heroism of the characters he idolizes. This is not immediately welcomed by his community, as they haven't needed anyone to fill the office of Questor for well over a century. However, he receives encouragement from a magical white stag who appears to him while he is contemplating his future. Armed with a malfunctioning magic sword - the result of drunkenly stumbling into a wizard's workshop one night - he goes off in search of his future.

Assisted by the wizard '''Rillcreek''' and his friend '''Kestrel''', he tries to figure out the nature of both his unpredictable weapon and his adventures.

==Plot synopsis==
Please see [[Tales of the Questor 2001-2004]] and [[Tales of the Questor 2005-2006]].

==Books==
The first two compilations of Questor comics are available to buyers on [[Wikipedia:Lulu.com|Lulu]]. Volume 1 is 223 pages long, and costs $41.99. It was awarded the 2005 [[Ursa Major Awards|Ursa Major Award]] for ''Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work''. Volume 2 is 170 pages long, priced at $39.99.

==External links==
*[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/Index.html Tales of the Questor website]
*[http://forums.keenspace.com/viewforum.php?forum=527 old Tales of the Questor forums]
*[http://www.rhjunior.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=5b162c89d2dd0151b191cff77ed6f0d6 new Tales of the Questor forums]
*[http://people.lulu.com/users/index.php?fHomepage=135246 Tales of the Questor, print editions]
*[http://newgrounds.com/portal/view/218174 "Tales of the Questors" Concept Compilation] by [[MalamiteLTD]]

[[Category:Comics]]
[[Category:2001 births]]
{{Wikipedia|Tales of the Questor}}

The Accidental Centaurs

2007-02-12T01:42:38Z

Madd the Sane:

[[Image:accidentalcentaurs.png|right|frame|The cast of ""Accidental Centaurs""]]'''''The Accidental Centaurs''''' is a [[webcomic]] created and drawn by [[John Lotshaw]]. It debuted on January 15th, 2002.

The strip follows the ongoing adventures of Alex and Sam, two scientists from Earth who had been working on a [[wikipedia:teleportation|teleportation]] system. During testing, the system explodes, opening a [[wikipedia:wormhole|wormhole]] to an [[wikipedia:Parallel universe (fiction)|alternate universe]]. There, they find themselves [[Shapeshifting|transformed]] into [[centaur]]s (or, more accurately, transformed into something so strange that their minds perceive them as centaurs to protect their sanity). Their arrival is noted by the W!rxn, (The "!" is pronouncoued as a click of the tongue) a race of [[wikipedia:Omniscience|omniscient]] beings that watch over the parallel universe, who believe them to be fulfillment of an ancient [[wikipedia:prophecy|prophecy]]. They are given a [[wikipedia:finger ring|ring]] which contains Lenny, a [[Genie|djinn]] who is supposed to be their guide and protector (but usually ends up insulting them more often than not).

===Stories===
{{spoiler}}
====Book I: ''Lair of the Insectaurs''====
In Book I, Sam is [[wikipedia:kidnapping|kidnapped]] by a [[wikipedia:hive|hive]] of half-[[human]]/half-[[insect]] creatures. She is fed [[wikipedia:royal jelly|royal jelly]] and is transformed into a [[wikipedia:Queen bee|queen]]. Lenny and Alex attempt to rescue her, and are drawn into a web of intrigue between the insectaurs and [[spider]]-like beings that live in the [[wikipedia:catacombs|catacombs]] under the insectaur hive.

A print edition of Book I, annotated by John Lotshaw, was originally scheduled for publication by Moonbase Press in February [[2004]] but was finally published in April.

====Book II: ''Duty Now for the Future!''====
In Book II, Sam and Alex learn more about the prophecy they are intended to fulfill. We get our first look at otherSpace centaur [[wikipedia:society|society]] and are shown the neighboring countries of Tauria (home of the centaur race) and Tyria (home of [[satyr]] like creatures). Sam and Alex get dragged into a war between the two countries and the machinations of Malevolence, an evil outcast from the W!rxn.

New characters introduced are Glo (a sprite and an advisor to the royal family of Tauria), the Magistrate (leader of the Order, a pseudo-religious order responsible for overthrowing the royal family of Tauria), Major Dorim, Zort (a former general of the Taurian army who now leads a rebellion against the Order), and Bix (a young centaur boy in the resistance who is, unbeknownst to him, the long lost surviving member of the Royal family).

In several strips, however, Lenny takes a short side trip to his home dimension (dubbed "GenieWorld" and introduced in [[The Wotch]]). The details of that trip are just now being revealed as a bonus feature running on Sundays at the Wotch website.

====Accidental Wotch====
On [[March 21]] [[2005]], ''Accidental Centaurs'' and another webcomic, ''[[The Wotch]]'' started a two week crossover. Although the storyline was lighthearted in tone, it was to have lasting repercussions in both webcomics. The story was plotted by Thomas "Thom Khatt" Revor and scripted by Revor, "The Wotch" author [[Anne Onymous]] and AC author John Lotshaw. Both comics have referenced the encounter since then, and the crossover has had lasting consequences for both of them (Sam's magical powers and Anne's newfound, if limited, knowledge of Xaos). Even though the storyline ran concurrently with "Duty Now For the Future", it actually takes place after it.

In addition, Lenny comes from GenieWorld, a dimension first introduced in ''The Wotch'', and apparently was Angelique's teacher. The ties between the two comics become more intertwined with the start of the "Sunday Specials", a storyline taking place in the GenieWorld dimension and involving characters from both comics and shown on the Wotch website on Sundays.

====You Can't Go Home Again====
Drawing from [[wikipedia:Alan Moore|Alan Moore]]'s award winning [[wikipedia:Superman|Superman]] story, "For The Man Who Has Everything", Alex falls under the spell of a mysterious plant that is mentally granting him his every desire. It is up to Sam and Lenny to rescue him from himself.

====Bride and Prejudice====
A guest comic written by Thomas "Thom Khatt" Revor and drawn by Darin "Naga" Brown, the story was a light-hearted romp involving a miscast spell from Sam (whose powers debuted in the Accidental Wotch storyline). The story introduced several new elements, including one of the bands of the nomadic centaurs.

====The White Flash====
A short story introducing major changes into the Accidental Centaurs storyline -- including some physical ones for our heroes!

====Hello To Arms====
Another guest comic written by Thomas "Thom Khatt" Revor and Darin "Naga" Brown and drawn by Brown, it focuses on the main character of Alex Tischenko and his quest to supplement his own abilities (as Sam is learning to control her new magical powers).

===Supplemental Features===

====Encyclopedia Accidentica====
Background information on the characters, environment, and world that the Accidental Centaurs takes place in.

====One-Shots & Guest Comics====
Featuring various fillers and other comics that doesn't necessarily fit into normal continuity.

==External links==
* [http://www.accidentalcentaurs.com/ The Accidental Centaurs]

{{Wikipedia|Accidental_Centaurs}}

[[Category:Comics|Accidental Centaurs, The]]
[[Category:2002 births|Accidental Centaurs, The]]